BARROW AFC head coach Stephen Clemence says his players should be looking forward to testing themselves tonight.

The Bluebirds travel to Rugby Park to take on Scottish Premier League outfit Kilmarnock as they continue their pre-season build up.

He told the club’s official YouTube channel: “It will be a good test going up to Kilmarnock. They have got a very good manager in Derek (McInnes) and they had a good season last year.

“They are due to play in Europe (UEFA Europa League against Cercle Brugge) next week, so they are probably ahead of us in their pre-season time because their league season starts ahead of us too.

“I’m expecting a real tough test, but it’s a good challenge.

“You want to go and play against a Scottish Premier League because it’s a good challenge for the boys and I think they should be looking forward to it.

“It’s a game we should look forward to. You want to play against good teams and good players to test yourself and see where you’re at.

“And that’s what the boys should be trying to do. They should really be looking forward to this opportunity.”

Barrow have won of their pre-season fixtures so far this summer – away to Holker Street Old Boys AFC, and away to FC United of Manchester.

In both of those games Clemence fielded vastly different starting XIs in either half of the clashes.

That won’t be the case tonight, as he admits he needs players to start getting more time on the grass.

He added: “I will lift the game time (tonight) and I will probably try to share it out again with the Stockport (County) game coming on Tuesday.

“I’ve got to get people now playing 60 minutes minimum. That’s where you try to take it in my position.

“You want to try to gradually take the load up on players, so that’s what we will try to do.”

Clemence is pleased with how things have gone since he came into the club, and while there is more work to be done, he admits things are starting to get down to the business end.

“I think we are really getting into the nitty gritty of pre-season now. We’ve got five games coming up in 16 days and the boys need top start upping their game time,” he said.

“I been pleased with them all, the way they have tried to take on board the ideas that we have given them.

“I can definitely see that coming out in games. As I said last weekend there’s still plenty we can improve on, but I have pleased with the boys’ attitude and how they have tried to take things on.”