Barrow players must toughen up - Maamria
Dino Maamria joined Barrow after a two-year gap from his last job at Burton
- Published
New Barrow head coach Dino Maamria is challenging his players to enjoy the suffering if they are to escape relegation danger.
Barrow are now just one point above the bottom two in League Two after blowing a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Fleetwood Town.
The Bluebirds won Maamria's first game in charge but have lost the next two to leave them in a perilous position.
And the manner of their second-half collapse in Lancashire has left the new boss concerned.
"What I'm learning is that our threshold to suffering is not a lot," the 54-year-old told BBC Radio Cumbria.
"I don't like that at all. We must change that very quickly and we will."
Barrow were winning 2-1 at Highway Stadium only to concede goals in the 89th and 94th minutes.
They have gained only two wins from their last 19 league games and Maamria is the third permanent boss of the season after Andy Whing and Paul Gallagher.
His sole task is to keep the club in the EFL and the former Burton Albion manager says he must work on the players' mental toughness to achieve that.
"They don't hold pain too much, they give in," he said. "That's not a good trait for a footballer.
"Good footballers, when it gets tough, they get tougher - that resilience, that tough mentality, that commitment. When it hurts you go again, clearly we don't have that yet."
Barrow host 16th-placed Gillingham on Saturday.
