Boro boss Graham Westley believes John Martin has been brilliant since coming back from a loan spell at Ebbsfleet despite dropping the midfielder for the trip to Crawley. Martin slotted straight back into the heart of the Stevenage midfield for the win

Boro boss Graham Westley believes John Martin has been "brilliant" since coming back from a loan spell at Ebbsfleet despite dropping the midfielder for the trip to Crawley.

Martin slotted straight back into the heart of the Stevenage midfield for the wins against Cambridge and Ebbsfleet but Westley felt with Michael Bostwick returning from suspension there wasn't enough room in his squad for the trip to the Broadfield Stadium.

"He has been brilliant since he came back," Westley told The Comet. "He came in and did his job against Cambridge and then against Ebbsfleet.

"But I've got some lads who have played 25 or 26 games and they have also done very well for me.

"In all honesty, I was always going to be bringing those boys back in because their performances have earned them the right to a place in the side."

Martin remains on the transfer list at The Lamex Stadium and looks to have played his last game for the club with Darren Murphy set to return to from suspension against Torquay to swell Boro's options in midfield.

Meanwhile, Westley has revealed he has targeted second place in the table to ensure that Boro play a possible semi-final second leg at home.

"It's that runners-up spot that we would love to get," he added. "It's all to do from our point of view - we're still five points behind Cambridge but we've got a game in hand.

"If we can win that and they slip then we could still get that runners up spot and I think that would be a massive achievement for the club after the position we found ourselves in earlier this season.

"Second or third gives us a home leg in the play-offs and that is a small advantage but why not get every advantage that you can?