Stephen Clemence is relishing his return to Gillingham this weekend for what will be a top-of-the-table clash.
It will be almost five months to the day since Clemence's stint as Gills manager was brought to an end, and he will have a point to prove when he brings his Barrow side to Priestfield Stadium on Saturday.
And, whilst Clemence believes that it will be just like 'any other game', the early season clash could go a long way in proving whether the Bluebirds have what it takes to be in the mix for promotion come the end of the campaign.
Read more: Barrow AFC boss Stephen Clemence is proud of his side | The Mail (nwemail.co.uk)
"I'm looking forward to the game and the chance to see a bunch of old faces," Clemence said.
"I'm very grateful to Gillingham because they gave me my first opportunity as a coach and, whilst I feel like I left prematurely, that's set up me to come into Barrow, which I'm really enjoying at the moment."
Going into the game, Barrow are sitting pretty at the top of the League Two table, having won five of their opening seven games.
But the Gills have an almost identical record, only separated on goals scored, so it is set to be the sternest test of this fledgling campaign for Clemence's men.
"We know that Gillingham have some very good players, but we have to remind ourselves that we do as well.
"We just have to play our own game and see if we can pick up what would be an excellent win away from home."
Clemence discussed having to change AFC's style of play midweek in the 5-0 defeat at Premier League giants Chelsea, and how that has further increased his excitement for the return to league action.
He added: "It was a one-off game and we changed how we approached the match to try and stop them [Chelsea] - if we played like we do at any other time, we would have been caught wide open.
"Since the players have come back, we've pushed the Chelsea game to one side and focused on what they've done well in the league so far this season because it's a completely different beast.
"We know we're in a good spot and we'll try to remind ourselves of that on Saturday."
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