Barnet head coach Martin Allen believes he has as many as seven captains in the dressing room, admitting he sometimes leaves his players to manage themselves.

The Bees came from behind to beat Macclesfield Town 3-1 at The Hive on Saturday and move eight points clear at the top of the Conference standings in the process.

Trailing 1-0 at half time following Adriano Moke’s strike four minutes before the break, Allen praised his players for refusing to collapse following the setback.

He said: “I did not really do anything – the players have to do it. You can’t underestimate the influence (Graham) Stack, (Jon) Nurse, (Charlie) MacDonald, Cookie (Lee Cook), Curtis (Weston), (Sam) Togwell and Hunty (David Hunt) have.”

Allen brought a number of experienced campaigners to the club in the summer – almost all of which have spent most of their careers in the Football League.

Sam Togwell, Lee Cook and Charlie MacDonald have made their names by playing in the top four divisions and Allen heaped praise on the input of the experienced heads in the dressing room.

Allen added: “I have got about seven captains in this team, so sometimes I let them get on with it. There is no point in having all these senior players here, who have hundreds of League games [to their name], they have to be self motivated and they are.”

The Bees boss also acknowledged the mentality of the squad in refusing to be affected by being top of the Conference.

Barnet have led the division since a 2-0 win at Southport in August – a run of 14 consecutive weeks, but Allen believes his side are not fazed by being league leaders.

“They have got a dream and everyone is working very hard to get to it,” explained Allen.

“When you get to the top end of the league – like we are – it is a different ball game every week. We are there to be beaten and everyone is looking to shoot us down. It has been like it nearly all season and thankfully the players are coping well.

He concluded: “They are fully focussed and know what they are up against. No-one ever talks about anything apart from improving and keep looking to look better.”

You can read Allen’s reaction to the Bees’ victory over the Silkmen by clicking here.