Barrow started the season as newcomers but with fairly high ambitions, having swept aside the Conference North on their way to promotion. Backed by an owner that was not holding his desire to invest and his aspirations for the Football League, the Bluebirds were expected to be one of the upwardly mobile sides in the league. But the recruitment in the summer was hardly eye-catching and the squad did not seem ready for the challenge ahead. Darren Edmondson appeared overwhelmed by the new divisions and the tough test that lied ahead and Barrow were quite underwhelming in the early weeks. They were able to secure a few wins here and there but the team mostly looked cowed and out of their depth in most games. The midfield was packed with hard-working players but few with a good eye for a pass. Andy Cook was battling hard up front from the word go and the striker would go on to have a pretty good season. But he was given precious little service for the most part and the Bluebirds looked quite predictable to play against. That said, they still got the better of decent sides like Eastleigh, Macclesfield and Lincoln and their form was not quite as bad to put genuine pressure on Edmondson. Yet the owner was already making some sounds about a possible change of discourse from October onwards as the team continued to lack consistency and struggle defensively against opposition. Indeed, they suffered three losses in a row by conceding ten goals in November and suddenly it seemed like a matter of time before a new manager is appointed. Indeed, a meek loss at Dover proved the end for the promotion-winning boss as Paul Cox took over. The latter was a renowned manager at this level and his ability to get good results was undoubted. He started off with a win over Woking but Barrow did not play many games in December due to the weather and it was a rather frustrating start for the new man in the dugout. They failed to win any of the next four league games and suffered a massive disappointment in early 2016 as Tranmere somehow defeated them despite the Bluebirds beings 3:1 up with almost no time left. That setback took a while to get over but the solid foundations and the character that the manager was trying to instil in the squad started to pay from February onwards. The Cumbrians went on a stunning run of just one loss in 14 games, against Cheltenham, and actually made it ten games in a row unbeaten at one point. Cox sorted out the defensive mistakes and Danny Livesey and Simon Grand looked much better prepared at the heart of defence. Andy Parry proved a good addition in the winter while loan signings in Michael Donohue and Ben Tomlinson had good impact as well. But Cook was the main man as he kept on scoring important goals and finished the season with 24 goals. The main difference was just the sort of belief and confidence that the players were handed by the manager and they enjoyed a pretty pleasing second half of the season overall. Relegation was never really a serious concern even in the weeks when the team struggled for points, having built up cushion earlier. Indeed, Barrow finished the season as one of the sides in best form in the league and certainly carry some momentum going into the next campaign when they may well be a force to be reckoned with.
