Barnet head coach Martin Allen felt he got a response with a goalless draw against Morecambe after private talks with his players following last weekend’s defeat Luton Town.

The Bees were second best at Kenilworth Road a week ago, ending a five-match unbeaten run in league and cup with a 2-0 loss.

However, an improved performance saw Allen’s side blunt the Shrimps’ attack, the joint-most dangerous in League Two, at The Hive and maintain their ten point buffer between the relegation zone.

Speaking afterwards, he said: “That was the same team that played last week at Luton and I wasn’t really happy with the way we played in that game.

“Privately I had a few words during the week and today they came out with much more tenacity.

“We just lacked that little bit of quality in the final third. But we can’t have everything; it’s a work in progress and we’re moving forward.

“We’re on a good run at the moment; we’re playing well, doing well, and I’ll probably make some changes for Tuesday night’s match (Notts County) to freshen things up.”

Allen believes Barnet have turned a corner from earlier in the season when hard luck stories became all too frequent, especially on the road, and on another day the Bees could have nicked all three points in the second half.

“We had some opportunities, but it wasn’t to be,” he said. “In the first half, with the wind blowing right down the pitch, they had a couple of good opportunities as well.

“From our point of view, it’s a clean sheet and another point on the board – clean sheets are always a positive.

“Earlier in the season I used to come in every week and say ‘unlucky, good try, keep going like that and we’ll be ok.’ “The players have turned big corners, to turn good performances into points.

“There were some good aspects to the game, and perhaps there could have been some improvements in the final third.

“I suppose it was a good point today – it is a good point because this morning we didn’t have it, and now we do.”

Whilst supporters battled the cold, the players were up against strong winds which roll in from over the North and South Terraces.

Allen has highlighted the impact of the wind before and felt it had a bearing on this game too.

He said: “In the first half we were playing against a gale force wind from right to left and it’s tough.

“We saw at the Morecambe game during the week that conditions can play a massive part.

“You could say professional footballers should just be able to deal with the weather, but we saw last season on many occasions how difficult it was for us to play in some conditions.”

Click here to read the match report from the stalemate with Morecambe.