[3] Having previously played for Chorley and Southport,[4] Barrow first entered the Football League at the relatively late age of 27 in August 1981 when he signed for Wigan Athletic from Altrincham for £10,000.
He became a vital part of manager Larry Lloyd's promotion winning side, playing as a hard man in midfield, and further endeared himself to Wigan fans by putting in a hard working performance in the Associate Members' Cup final at Wembley Stadium in 1985 despite playing in the unfamiliar position of forward.
[10] Although Chester finished well out of the promotion race in eighth position, Barrow managed to guide the club to an FA Cup third round tie with Blackburn Rovers after eliminating Football League sides Plymouth Argyle and Oxford United.
[14] He returned to working in football the following January, when he continued his trend of going back to former clubs in north-west England by becoming assistant–manager to Graham Heathcote at Altrincham.
[16] Due to Owen Coyle's sacking on 2 December 2013, Barrow took charge of the team for their game against Leeds United two days later, which they lost 2–0.
[19] In March 2017, Wigan appointed Barrow as caretaker manager for the remainder of the 2016–17 season after the sacking of Warren Joyce but he was unable to prevent relegation to League One.