Stevenage will have to be on their mettle for the full 90 minutes against Cambridge United, says manager Graham Westley.

The sides meet at The R Costings Abbey Stadium on Saturday in League Two, and Boro’s boss has identified the U’s ability to come on strong at the end of games as something his players will have to contend with.

“They finish games strongly,” said Westley. “They’re a high-scoring team late in games, they work very hard and keep going, they make good tactical changes and pose problems right to the final whistle.”

Richard Money’s Cambridge hit the national headlines this season after earning an FA Cup replay against Manchester United. That, Westley insisted, tells you all you need to know about Saturday’s opponent.

“They have a very good squad and they’re well managed,” he said. “They held a very good Premier League side to a credible draw at home. We know we’ll get nothing for nothing.

“It’s a local derby so everybody will be up for the game. We need to be right on top of our games and willing to go all the way to get the points.”

Boro go into the game as firm favourites having picked up back-to-back wins against play-off chasing Plymouth Argyle and Newport County. They are also unbeaten in their last six games.

Cambridge have won one of their last four games.

Westley wouldn’t entertain the idea that it would be an easy game.

“Was it easy at Hartlepool?” he said, referencing Boro’s 3-1 away win over League Two’s basement side. “In any league, any team isn’t “easy”. The difference between the top and bottom is marginal. You have to get the margins right to succeed.

“I would never look at any game of football and do [the opponents] the disrespect of thinking it would be easy.”

Saturday’s game at Cambridge kicks off at 3pm.