PAUL Cox wants to bring in some ‘nasty and horrible’ players to Barrow AFC in his final transfer activity before the National League season starts.

The Bluebirds boss believes his squad still needs three additions, especially with goalkeeper Joel Dixon, defensive midfielder Andy Parry and striker Byron Harrison out injured for the immediate future .

With the season-opener against Dagenham and Redbridge just days away, Cox is yet to decide who will captain his AFC side this season.

Alex-Ray Harvey – the club’s longest-serving player – has worn the arm-ban with regularity in pre-season, while new signing Asa Hall has also led the troops.

But Cox is looking for someone with an edge, someone to rile up opponents and upsets people to take charge on the field, someone he feels has yet to be signed up.

Asked who the captain would be when the season starts, Cox said: “The decision has not been made yet. Al-Ray has had the arm-band, Asa’s had it. Being totally honest, if we need three players coming in, then I would like at least two of them to be captain material.

“What I mean by that, is we are lacking something at the minute. We are lacking a little bit of leadership on the pitch, we’re lacking a kind of mind-set that has a little bit of nastiness and horribleness. We’re missing that.

“I have a lovely group of players at the minute who are honest and genuine, but to win titles, sometimes you need somebody who is a little bit dishonest, somebody who bites and scratches, somebody that upsets people and is not scared to.

“Usually those people end up wearing an arm-band with the captain’s name on it. These are the type of players I think we are missing at the minute – the know-how, the nastiness, the experience. They’re the ones I am now looking to bring into the squad.”