Graham Westley faces the media as Stevenage gear up to face Everton in the FA Cup this weekend
Graham Westley says revolution is afoot at Stevenage.
Speaking at today’s press conference ahead of the FA Cup match with Everton this weekend, the Boro manager said that he has had to cut his cloth accordingly in League 1 this season but if his players play to the level that he knows they are capable of they can be more than a match for Roberto Martinez’s men at the weekend.
Westley was speaking after both Ben Chorley, to Portsmouth, and Greg Tansey, to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, had left the club this week while the futures of Marcus Haber, David Gray, James Dunne and Robin Shroot remain unresolved.
However, looking ahead to the FA Cup and the difficult task of overcoming a Premier League outfit intent of breaking into the Champions League this season, Westley believes that the players that remain at the club and who will feature at the weekend can win the game for their club.
Boro have already faced the Toffees once this season – a 2-1 defeat after extra-time in the Capital One Cup back in August – and Westley believes that being at home will also be an advantage.
“We’ve got a bit of a revolution going on here. I think at the last count there were 15 or 16 players going out of the door including Greg [Tansey] and then Ben Chorley yesterday to Portsmouth,” Westley said.
“We’ve had to slim down, we’ve had to cut our cloth. The cup runs weren’t there last year so the funds weren’t there. We’ve had to really trim things back and at the same time get something going.
“We hadn’t won a lot of points when I came back and we haven’t won a lot of games this season but we’re bottom and improving.
“We’re in a good place. I think the players are performing to a good standard, they haven’t quite got the results but with our best players on the pitch, and thankfully we’ve got one or two returning right now, we’re more than a match for anyone in league 1 and we’ve already shown that on our day if we get it right tactically, if we prepare in the right way, we can put on a show against a Premier League side.
“We were 1-1 after 90 minutes up there. It was backs to the wall a bit, we had to work very, very hard and we will have to work very, very hard at the weekend. But as I say it’s at our place not theirs and that is an advantage.
“Winning a big cup game provides you with the fuel that can then underwrite the efforts that you’re putting in in the league.
“We’re under no illusions about the importance of the game and we will sweat blood to win it.”
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