Grant Holt admitted the chance to coach while still playing at a "very, very good level" was the main reason behind his move back to Barrow.

Carlisle-born Holt's transfer to the Bluebirds as a player-coach was confirmed last week after a brief spell at King's Lynn Town.

The 36-year-old former Premiership star pulled on an AFC shirt for the first time in 14 years on Saturday when he came off the bench in their 2-0 defeat to Macclesfield.

But, while Holt has been delighted at the reception he has received from AFC fans and the reaction to his return for a third spell with the club, he is determined to show he is not back at Barrow just for the adoration.

"It’s nice to be back, but I’m not here for a clap and a ‘great, he’s back'," said Holt.

"I’m coming here to show the Grant Holt who left 14 years ago can come back and still do it, still offer a lot to this football club. That will come.

"We’ve got some good weeks of training coming up, and you will start seeing the best of me in those few weeks."

"I’ve spoken to the manager [Ady Pennock] and he has told me what he wants, what he thinks he can achieve with the club and the players, and what he wants to do," he added.

"I had a good chat with him and I had a good chat with the owner [Paul Casson], who told me what he wanted to do.

"Personally, it’s an opportunity for me to play at a higher level and coach. It ticked all the boxes when it all came together.

"It’s an opportunity for me to do a lot of coaching while still playing at a very, very good level, and that was it."

Holt admitted there has been previous occasions when he had looked at coming back to Holker Street.

The most recent was when Paul Cox resigned in August, and he was linked with being part of the management set-up, before Micky Moore was appointed for his brief and ill-fated reign.

Former Workington Reds striker Holt said: "I think everyone knows I’ve got an affinity to Barrow and how much I want the club to succeed with how much I text, Tweet and how much I look at the results since I left.

"It’s been thought about before and, at times, it probably wasn’t right, but I think this time was right."