Stevenage captain looking forward to competition for places

BORO captain Mark Roberts has said he is delighted with boss Graham Westley’s summer signings.

Boro have moved quickly in the transfer market this summer by securing the signatures of defenders Darius Charles and Luke Foster plus midfielder Peter Winn and latest signing Robbie Sinclair who has joined on a free after leaving Salisbury City.

With the club also signing up 17 of last term’s players on new deals while only losing the services of injury-prone Andy Drury (although the futures of Mitchell Cole and Michael Bostwick are uncertain), Westley has not wasted any time in assembling his squad for the new season.

Speaking about the new signings, Roberts told The Comet: “We’ve kept the nucleus of the team that did so well last season.

“We’re all confident that we can give a good account of ourselves and we’re not prepared to just make up the numbers for next season.

“The key to success is competition for places and I think we’ve brought in some excellent players.

“When I was signing my new contract I saw Darius and I’ve played with Winny before and they are both talented players. Winny will come on leaps and bounds and Darius really stood out for me when I’ve played against him.

“Last season when players got injured different players came in and did as good a job as the first 11. We have five substitutes who thought they were playing and we had a good, strong squad.

“It’s good that we’re bringing in players who can go up a level and it gives us room to grow.”

Roberts is also pleased to have signed a new two-year deal himself and the centre-back said he never once considered moving to another club before penning the deal.

“When your future gets sorted it’s very important, but I never considered moving away from the club.

“I love the club and I love everything to do with it and I’m really pleased to have signed the new contract.”