Boro goalkeeper hoping for lasting legacy from Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Newcastle

CHRIS DAY hopes a decent showing against Newcastle United in the FA Cup on Saturday will further improve the profile of the club.

It will be the third time Boro have played in front of the live TV cameras this season and the veteran stopper believes a positive result could play a large part in shaping the club’s future.

“It’s the third time this season we’d have been on telly which means more revenue and a bigger profile for the club due to the attention,” Day told The Comet.

“For this club, in the long term, it’s important to get a young base of fans whose first team is Stevenage. For years there have been a lot of Tottenham and Arsenal fans who live in the town but hopefully the next generation of supporters will grow up supporting Stevenage first and foremost.

“That will be something that’s a long-term legacy and anything we can do with results and upsets in the cup perhaps, would be fantastic to help towards that goal.”

Day notes there hasn’t been the same hype around the town compared to the match against the Magpies in 1998 and he puts this down to the club’s recent success in getting into the Football League as well as three FA Trophy appearances at Wembley.

However, he realises what this match means to Boro supporters and insists the players are fully aware of the excitement in and around the town.

He added: “I’ve lived here since 1996, my wife is from the town and most of my friends and family are from the town as well.

“I was here watching the game in 1998 as a Stevenage resident but at that time the town painted everything red and white but I think this time it’s a little bit more downbeat, which is good, because we’ve achieved things on the football pitch.

“It’s fantastic to earn the right to do something – we’ve earned the right to be in the Football League – and as a result I don’t think there’s that same air about the place this time. I think everyone at the club will be focused and we know what we can do to get a result.

“There’s a buzz around the people and family and friends because it’s a day as much for them as it is for us and they’ve been looking forward to it since the draw came out whereas we’ve genuinely been focused on every league game and every training session.

“It will be a big gate and there will be a lot of people who don’t come every week to put a show on for. But, at the end of the day they’re only going to enjoy it to the maximum if we get a result.

“I saw Newcastle play at Tottenham the other day, obviously in very different circumstances from this Saturday’s game because they’ve gone there as the underdogs with a different game plan.

“They played one up front which I’m sure they won’t do against us but we know their players and the cup is a great leveller so we genuinely believe we’ve got a chance.

“It’s a two-horse race so I don’t see why we can’t get a result but at the same time we’ll pay enough respect to them.

“They’re not in the Premier League without good reason and they’ve earned the right to be there and they’ve won a lot of matches over the last 50 or 60 games but we’ll work hard and stick together so hopefully that’s going to get us some reward come Saturday.”