Boro boss talks to The Comet about the importance of Tuesday’s win, and looks towards the weekend as a chance to put more pressure on the teams above them

GARY SMITH says Tuesday night’s win against Oldham has given his players an extra spring in their step after ending a seven-match winless streak.

Their last victory prior to Tuesday was a 1-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday back on February 14, and the Stevenage boss says the players are now looking to make up for lost ground – starting with a trip to Hartlepool on Saturday – as they bid to force their way back into the play-off picture.

“Wins always do that to any team,” Smith told the Comet. “There is so much to be gained out of winning. We put the teams above us under a bit of pressure and we’ve still got two games in hand over Notts County. We’ve still got to play Carlisle at home so the three points were far greater than anything else on Tuesday night.

“Speaking to the lads today [Thursday] we’re in great spirits. Everyone opened their eyes on the Wednesday morning and felt we’re pushing on again.

“It will be a tough away game [at Hartlepool] but a performance at the weekend and a good result sees us come home against Colchester [on Tuesday] and the odds swing back in our favour again.”

Smith said he wasn’t concerned with Boro’s failure to win during the previous seven outings because it was a considerably hard month for his players.

“Without it really engulfing us, you start to look at the fact we had extra games in the FA Cup – two games against Spurs which, whether you like it or not were a little distracting. The exploits at White Hart Lane were so great in terms of energy expelled and the emotion of the occasion, so to get back on track again and win a game was vitally important.

“We managed to navigate through a very tough February and remain in contention, and that was always going to be the challenge.”