Stevenage FC

Boro Player spoke to Head of Youth Darren Sarll on Tuesday as his side prepare for the FA Youth Cup Second Round away to MK Dons on Saturday.

His side defeated Luton Town in the First Round, a result that he described as “really good” before telling us “The FA Youth Cup is a strange competition for the boys who are playing in it for the first time, it’s a real test for them. It can do some weird things to the lads psychologically, they think they have to start doing things differently and not try to implement that the work we do every day and it’s a really good test. There’s a really good buzz about it so we’re really looking forward to Saturday.”

Fejiri Okenabirhie was the man of the match with a hat trick against the Hatters that sealed a second round tie, and Sarll told how that goal scoring form continued into the league campaign, he said “He’s doing terrific and is really improving all the time, straight after that game we played Watford on the following Saturday and he scored again so he’s in a little bit of form at the moment and it’s fully deserved.”

Stevenage hope to achieve a third round place, a feat they managed last season before losing to Tottenham Hotspur’s youth side by a last-second goal, however the next round against the Dons will take place on the same day that the first team play away to Sheffield United.

Sarll admitted that he would have liked the game to be at another time, not only so that Boro supporters could go along and support the future of their club but also because the buzz of an evening game adds spice to any game.

“It is a shame, I think when you play in the evening games there’s a lovely atmosphere to the event. I think it does increase the atmosphere and it’s a real shame that Saturday isn’t going to be under the lights. It’s something that we would have liked but hopefully if we move on in the competition we’ll carry on to do.”

To see the full interview, including how Darren thinks the lads will react to playing at Stadium:MK and an update on the league campaign, sign into Boro Player now!