Barrow assistant boss Sam Hird insisted “we are not there yet” as a 2-1 win over Exeter moved them nine points clear of the Sky Bet League Two relegation zone.

Patrick Brough’s sixth goal of the season and Scott Quigley’s 13th, in injury time in either half, ensured Pierce Sweeney’s last-gasp goal was only consolation for the high-flying visitors.

“The focus is to stay up and we are not there yet,” said Hird.

“How high, though, can we get up the table? There are six more games, how many can we win?

“But we have not set ourselves a points target. We are in a good position but we still have to prepare right and focus.

“The lads did everything asked of them and more. Since the manager (Rob Kelly) came in and we have come back as staff we have set them up to be hard to beat, good on the break, exciting going forward. We offered all that in abundance.

“Over the course of the game we deserved it. Our two goals were good goals. We didn’t create many more chances but we also defended excellently.

“The lads were disappointed to concede so late because they wanted the clean sheet. But it is the result that matters.

“Exeter are a good side and a massive threat going forward. I thought we dealt with it pretty well but I think they will be in the play-offs.”

On Brough’s fourth goal in 10 games, Hird added: “He has been excellent since he has moved to wing-back. He is a great pro and deserves the goals he is getting.”

Exeter came into the game on the back of a 4-1 win over then-leaders Cambridge but boss Matt Taylor believed Brough’s latest strike was the key point.

“The goal was a poor one,” he said. “You get them in at half-time at 0-0 and you can tweak a few bits and pieces and get them doing the right things more often.

“But we end up chasing the game and desperation sets in. It was huge.

“We never once beat them in a one-v-one situation with the ball, we never passed it round them, we never really got the ball in the opposition box where we wanted it.

“It is a sign of where we are but we gave Barrow the opportunity to be like that on the back of that goal at the end of the first half. It ultimately cost us.

“If we concede that goal in the first minute I am still as angry. We knew what is at stake; we are desperate for points.

“Putting a dead ball in a certain position is a skill. I see players working on it on a daily basis but in the context of the game when the pressure gets into their bodies, for some reason they can’t execute it.

“If everyone is fit, firing and 100 percent we back ourselves against anyone in this league, as we showed against Cambridge.

“But we didn’t quite have the extra yard in our legs tonight – but that is no excuse for the goal. It could have so different.”