GRAHAM WESTLEY says a number of his starting XI for Saturday’s game will be playing through the pain barrier in order to earn the club the dream prize of League 1 football next season.

The Boro manager said he only had seven fully-fit players after last Friday’s win over Accrington Stanley, and while that may be of some concern to supporters, Westley assures there will be enough adrenaline flowing to make sure his players are on top of their game going into the match.

Westley said: “We will certainly have boys out there on the field of play who will be under the surgeon’s knife next week, so even the lads who are getting out there are doing so with knocks that need corrective surgery.

“But you expect that at this time of year, I don’t think any club will be playing with a clean bill of health – it’s been a long hard season but I think there’ll be too much adrenaline running through their bodies for them to feel too much pain and I’m sure we’ll get 11 players out there come the weekend.”

Centre-back and treble Player of the Season winner, Jon Ashton, is rated as ‘touch and go’ for the match after nursing a calf strain that forced him to sit out the last match, but Westley will welcome back the services of influential midfielder John Mousinho who has served his three-match ban.

Westley added: “He (Mousinho) has got goals out of midfield this year, he’s a fantastic athlete who has experience – he’s won promotion out of this league already and all of those are attributes that can only add to the squad and not take away from it.”