Stevenage Boro boss Mark Stimson s monthly column for The Comet It has been a month since I last wrote a column, and on reflection I would say that there have been some decent games and some good performances. The one real glitch would be the performance

Stevenage Boro boss Mark Stimson's monthly column for The Comet

It has been a month since I last wrote a column, and on reflection I would say that there have been some decent games and some good performances.

The one real glitch would be the performance against Northwich Victoria at home.

On that afternoon the boys didn't perform how we expected them to, but it may be that we have to give Northwich some credit there.

They came here and set up a system that was planned to frustrate us and at the time it did.

Unfortunately, during the game there was a bizarre incident when the referee gave a penalty against us, that everyone was stunned by and we didn't really get to grips with that.

In the coming weeks we have some enticing games, not least the visit to Wrexham this Saturday for the FA Cup first round.

I think that playing Wrexham is a fantastic tie for us because we get to play a League club that has got a lot of history and a nice stadium now.

They started the season very well, but recently have been having a difficult time.

So we will look forward to the match. It is an opportunity for all players to test themselves against league players, to see how far off we are.

It is a game that we will go into as underdogs, but hopefully we can cause a surprise.

We have been working extremely hard to ensure that our fitness levels are in top shape.

Hopefully we will have a massive following from this great support that we have got and the noise they will bring to it will be important, and hopefully we can put in a performance that everyone can be proud of.

You will have noticed a young lad, Tyron Sealey, on the bench for our last few matches.

Tyron is a product of our youth set up and when I took over at Stevenage I was asked whether I was interested in the youth at the club, I said definitely.

I am one of those people for whom football is a seven day a week thing; it is a fantastic drug - the only drug that you should ever get involved in.

I have been fortunate enough to watch a couple of the youth games this year and there are a couple of the boys there who really impress me.

Tyron at the moment, due to the position that he plays and the fact that we are not overloaded with strikers, has been given the opportunity to come into the squad.

He got on for a couple of minutes in the Northwich game and looked very lively.

Tyron has got fantastic pace, he needs some work on his shooting and his composure in front of goal, but the one ingredient he has got in his favour is pace and that is a massive advantage for a striker.

So how are we doing overall? Since we have been here there have been a lot of changes among the playing staff and the way that we want to play compared to last year.

We are getting closer and I'm always looking to improve and if we can, I think that the board will back me to get a player in who is going to improve our team.

But at the moment I would say that we are not far away.

If we could just add one or two more experienced players in the squad to help the young ones - such as Morison, Boyd, Dobson and Fuller - then I think that it will only improve them.

Like when Steve Guppy plays; he was fantastic for the young boys because he took a lot of pressure off them just by controlling the ball, giving himself a bit of time and slowing the game down. So that is an area that we may be looking at.

Over the last month there have been some good performances and the team is shaping up, looking good and looking fitter and hopefully the run-up to Christmas will be a very enjoyable one.