Stevenage boss Alex Revell was delighted with his sides display in the 2-1 win against Port Vale on Tuesday…
After getting out to a 2-0 lead early in the second half, a late Vale goal made for a nervy end to the match, but Boro held out to earn all three points.
“From start to finish we were excellent,” Revell said. “We deserved it for all the hard work, time and continual belief in the players. It was a tough last 10 minutes because ultimately it is always going to be when you haven’t had the wins that you need but it was great to get through and to finish with a win against a good team. It is a really good feeling.
“After Saturday we had to speak to them and ask them to show what it means to them. We changed people around to give it a freshness and I thought that the players who came in were outstanding and really added to a top team performance.
“We speak about intensity a lot and that was a team we all want to watch every week, creating chances, being on the front foot, winning your tackles, winning your headers, winning your first and second balls and yes, we still can come away thinking we haven’t taken out chances as much as we should have done but ultimately we have scored two and won the game.”
The result lifts Stevenage out of the relegation zone and Revell says that he now wants to see more on a more consistent basis.
“Today is a really good step up but the biggest thing is now we have to go on a run or put two or three performances together in order to ensure we climb away from where we are and to prove that this isn’t a one-off, that it has been coming and to show everyone how good we are.
“We don’t want to be down there and we are working extremely hard every day. Myself and the players have never stopped so we dust ourselves down and enjoy the win, because it is a lovely feeling and we haven’t had enough of it, and we get ready for a tough game on Sunday but we also know that next Wednesday is going to be a really big game for us.”
Next for Stevenage is a Emirates FA Cup Second Round tie against Hull City, which can be watched live across the BBC this Sunday.
“It is going to be a tough game, we know that. They are on fire at the minute. We are going to have to plan for that and make sure that we are ready and the energy levels are the same (as tonight).
“The players can leave today knowing full well that they have put in a top performance and we are in tomorrow to make sure we get ready for what will be a tough game, but it is the FA Cup, we love it and hopefully we can show everyone how good we are and get a cup shock.”