Whing and Barrow happy to keep 'underdog' tag

Barrow is Andy Whing's first job as a number one in the EFL

To live in the Birmingham area and be head coach of League Two side Barrow, countless hours on the M6 motorway are inevitable.

That is what Andy Whing signed up for in January when he left Solihull Moors in the National League to have a crack at the EFL with the Bluebirds.

Whing does not hide away from the challenges of rebuilding a team that was ripped up in the summer and a testing start to the new season.

But motivation remains high to keep Barrow punching above their weight as he racks up those motorway miles.

"Three years ago, I worked in a sofa factory," he told BBC Sport.

"Now I'm a League Two manager, so driving up and down the M6 is absolutely fine.

"Getting back from a Tuesday night game in Barrow at three, four in the morning, does take it out of you for the next couple of days. That has been a challenge in itself for me to navigate around.

"But I feel really privileged to be a manager in the EFL. I am working for a fantastic football club, so that's what you have to do."

Rebuild took 'longer than we thought'

Whing replaced Stephen Clemence as head coach in January with Barrow on a slippery slope down the league.

But he stabilised them and a run of one defeat in their last 13 games saw the team finish 16th. It was a drop from the previous season - they finished eighth - but still guaranteed survival with plenty to spare.

However, hopes and expectations of kicking on this term had to be tempered by a huge overhaul of the playing staff as 16 players have arrived, offset by 17 departures.

Six of the first eight league games were lost as injuries and suspensions, combined with bedding in so many new faces, played their part.

But seven points from their last three games, helped by having key players back from injury and suspension, have got Barrow moving up the table and they now sit in 17th, crucially seven points clear of the relegation zone.

"It's taken a lot longer than we thought and it will still take a while for everyone to bed in and fully grasp what we want and how they fit into that system," said Whing.

"So it was challenging up until that point but you can see the lads are getting it a lot better and we have a much clearer idea of who can and can't do what we're asking.

"Especially with a brand new squad like ours, it was always going to take a bit of time to gel and we're probably two, three, four months away from getting the best out of everyone but we are definitely seeing the signs."

Tyler Walker (left) and Tom Barkhuizen were two of the new players to join Barrow this summer

Training ground derby

This is Barrow's sixth season in League Two since winning the National League in 2020, a promotion that came out of the blue after 48 years outside of the Football League, meaning the club is trying to catch up with their regular opponents in the EFL in terms of facilities and infrastructure.

And the club's geographical location, tucked away in the south western tip of the Cumbrian peninsula, means the Bluebirds will always be one of English football's outlier clubs.

Those two factors are always at play when assessing Barrow's chances and it is tapping into that 'underdog' spirit that Whing believes is essential for them to continue to upset the odds.

It is emphasised by their next match on Saturday - the 'training ground derby' - away to newly promoted Oldham Athletic (17:30 BST).

Barrow's rented training facility at FC United of Manchester in the east of the city is only five miles from Boundary Park, which is an EFL venue again after three years in the league below.

But with average crowds more than double those of their visitors, it is an example for Whing of the constant challenge his team faces in League Two.

"A club the size of ours, the owner has done brilliantly to get us to where we've got to, but we rent a training ground while other clubs have got bigger squads, bigger budgets, even academies they can use, so we're on the back foot already," he said.

"You're squeezing every little last drop out of players and staff to keep going and keep building. We're really fortunate that we've got a really good group of players willing to work hard and staff who work their absolute socks off and that's how we try to build day in, day out.

"We like that underdog tag, going away to clubs like Oldham and beating them, especially at their places."

Follow live text commentary of Oldham Athletic v Barrow (17:30 BST) and all the other League One and Two fixtures on the BBC Sport website.