Derby rivals Stevenage and Luton Town meet for the first time in the football league on Saturday, but Boro boss Graham Westley does not want the eagerly awaited clash to become a regular Sky Bet League Two fixture.

Westley has his sights on taking Stevenage back up the steps of the footballing ladder following last season’s League One relegation.

Of facing Luton, who won the Conference last term, he said: “I don’t really look to any derby and say ‘I hope we keep getting that one’ because you don’t want to pitch yourselves against clubs lower down, you want to pitch yourself up against clubs higher up, so I hope it doesn’t build.”

However, while the game is on the fixture list, the Boro boss is expecting a tasty encounter.

“While it is there, they are the local rival and I’m sure it’s going to be a contest that will be fiercely contested,” he said.

“Both sets of fans will be passionate, the Luton fans are awesome in the support of their team, you just need to look at their penalty record this season to see they get a lot more than they concede, that tells you the amount of pressure their fans can put on a game and when you’ve got that sort of backing it can make a difference.”

A host of Westley’s players, including Ronnie Henry who re-joined Stevenage from the Hatters over the summer, have got the experience of successful promotion campaigns, he added: “The thing that’s big about us is our CVs.

“We’ve got plenty of players here with rich histories in terms of promotions at this and higher levels, and we have got all of those promotions that we can play the game with.

“We know what we’re doing, we have one or two big players back, we totally respect the challenge and we’re looking forward to the encounter.”