Former boss comes back for third stint as manager following his departure from Preston North End last month

Stevenage have confirmed the appointment of Graham Westley as manager.

Westley, 45, rejoins after leaving the club for Preston North End in January 2012 following three years at Boro that saw the club win back to back promotions from the Conference to League 1.

He replaces Gary Smith, who left the club 10 days ago.

Chairman Phil Wallace said: “Graham was keen to come back to Stevenage and, although I met some strong candidates, without doubt I think he’s the best man for the job right now. The club enjoyed a great deal of success before he left last year and we moved forwards significantly in his time here on several levels.

“Since he left we’ve continued that progress in people and infrastructure off the pitch. So we spent a lot of time this past week talking about things we feel we could do better this time round and we’ve put many of those into our contractual arrangement.

“There are a lot of myths about Graham and the 9-5 one is the biggest. Yes, he demands a high work ethic and commitment from his players but the extra hour or two some may do is spent on personal development subjects. As long as a lad wants to improve himself and win medals that’s never been an issue at our club.

“I’m looking forward to some exciting times again. This is the first time our season has ended in April for four years and that’s a measure of how far we’ve come and what we’re about.”