Ahead of this afternoon's Sky Bet League Two fixture against Forest Green Rovers, Phil Wallace addresses Stevenage supporters in the Digital Matchday Programme...
Good afternoon and welcome to the players and officials of Forest Green Rovers.
Our opponents today sit top of the league, having lost one and drawn one from their seven games, so they will be looking for a result today. We, in turn, feel the time is right to show what we are about and why our place in the league table is false. We know what is needed to win games and we are ready to put that into play against the league leaders.
We are at a critical point in our development. Off the pitch we have completed all the infrastructure works around the stadium that I wanted to complete, and we have now started upgrading both our training centres – the Academy at Shephalbury and the First Team facility at Bragbury End. Financially, we are in good shape, and we have to kick on now. We have almost everyone back to work and we are operating almost normally. Conferencing and group bookings will take a while to get back to where they were, but we can see new bookings coming in for both the new 76 Lounge and The Broadhall Suite. It has been a challenging time, but we have got great people working at the Club and we are firmly back on track, after staring a black hole in the face in 2020.
We are also going through a critical point on the pitch. Not winning in seven games tests the mental resolve of everyone involved, but when you look back at those 7 games, apart from a few where we have been inexplicably under par, we have played well and been unlucky not to be in the next round of the League Cup and sitting much higher in the table. We all know that has to change and it will. Sometimes the force has to be with you to get the luck you need to turn draws into wins and I am hoping that we can show the mental strength needed to go on a long run of wins before the end of the year.
I spoke at length with the Manager during this past week and we both felt that we needed to reinforce our DNA in the way we play and the entertainment we provide. If we can do that, then the quality of the players we have recruited this season will see us have a fine season. I have said before that these lads are handpicked and there is not one lad that Revs feels is not worthy of being part of the team. Of course, there will be injuries and suspensions, but that is just an opportunity for a lad to make a shirt his own.
We are so pleased to have you back at The Lamex. Let us hear you urging the lads on. Enjoy the game!
- Phil Wallace
- Please click here to view or download the Stevenage vs Forest Green Rovers Digital Matchday Programme in full.
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Match tickets for Stevenage vs Forest Green Rovers are now available from www.borotickets.co.uk.