Midfielder’s 20 minute spell against Rochdale gave Boro fans glimpse of his quality, says Westley

GRAHAM Westley says Josh Walker’s appearance from the bench against Rochdale on Saturday has given the Stevenage fans a glimpse of the quality the midfielder can bring to the team.

Walker signed on loan at the club last week following a similar spell at Boro last season, but that loan period lasted just two games due to a combination of snow-affected games and his parent club Watford recalling him early.

Westley remained in contact with the midfielder since he left the club last December and on re-signing him called Walker ‘a fantastic footballer’ who is also improving in his knowledge of the dirtier side of the game - defending.

“Well Josh came here last year and we only saw a glimpse of him really, two games in his couple of months because of the weather,” Westley said.

“In the time that I had him I knew he was a fantastic footballer. I knew he had great feet, great vision, great ability with the ball [and was a] great technical player.

“We know he knows that the dirty side of the game is what he needs to really get some discipline in and already this week he’s done a lot of work to develop himself physically and his understanding of the way we defend and I thought when he came on he put in a good 20 minute shift and gave everybody a little bit of excitement about the qualities he brings to the team.”