Last updated at 15:18, Monday, 04 January 2010

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THE first question asked of Barrow joint-manager Darren Sheridan after his side’s 3-0 defeat by Sunderland was if he was proud of his side.

After any other 3-0 loss, this would have seemed a strange question, but Sheridan and Dave Bayliss’s men had just matched a side 98 league places above them for a good 45 minutes and given a fine account of themselves.

Thus, it was no real surprise that Sheridan spoke of his real pride in the men who wore the blue and white on the Stadium of Light pitch.

“I’m definitely proud of them. Especially in the first half, I didn’t think there was much in the game, just them scoring.

“I thought we put up a good show, especially in the first half, but the goal just after half-time has killed us.

“For the lads and the fans, it was a brilliant day for us all.

“I’m proud of the lads, they have put up a good show today.

“I thought we could have sneaked it.

“We had a couple of chances on goal in the first half and I was just hoping one of them would get deflected in and it gives the lads a lift and it gives the crowd something to shout about. “The first half especially, we matched them all over the park and I thought they did very well.”

Sheridan revealed the decision to start with Tim Deasy in goal had been forced on the managers after regular keeper Stuart Tomlinson came down with a bug.

Deasy played one of his best games in a Barrow shirt and Sheridan was full of praise for a stopper who has produced whenever given the chance this season.

“Stuart has been poorly, he has a bug and that’s why he didn’t play,” he said.

“But Tim has been very unfortunate this season and he has come in today and done a brilliant job. It gives us another headache now with the two keepers.”

Sheridan said the experience of reaching the third round for the second year running, following the 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough a year ago, had been a great one.

The Bluebirds had trained at Boro’s facilities the day prior to the clash and the Barrow boss added: “It has been a really good weekend. To get to this stage again has been brilliant. We stayed in Middlesbrough last night, we trained in Middlesbrough yesterday and we have stayed in a top five-star hotel, the lads have loved it, it’s a taste of the big time.

“They want a bit more of that now they have had a taste. There are a few lads in the team who were in there last year and they have had it before.

“This is what the FA Cup is all about – teams like us playing against Sunderland in front of a big crowd and a brilliant day.

And on the benefits of reaching this stage of the competition, with upwards of £200,000 being put into the club coffers from the run, Sheridan said: “The money brings us security.

“ There are things that need doing at the ground and we need to add to the squad as well, there are players we want to look at and bring in and this gives us a little bit more money to play with.

“We’ve got to the third round again and people will be looking at us. We train in Manchester and we have a lot of Liverpool lads and Manchester lads.

“I think it puts a lot of players off thinking they have got to go up to Barrow to train, but we have a set-up down in Manchester and that is all going well, touch wood it keeps going.”

As for next year, having played Middlesbrough and Sunderland these past two seasons, Sheridan is already thinking ahead.

“We’ll take Newcastle next year, bring the treble up, I’d be happy with that,” he mused. “We didn’t think we’d be able to do it again this year, but we have done it again, so you never know.”

First published at 12:58, Monday, 04 January 2010
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk