On-loan Histon goalkeeper hoping to impress during his loan spell with Boro

NEW signing Joe Welch says he hopes to do enough to impress manager Graham Westley in a bid to win a permanent deal at Stevenage.

Welch signed on loan for Boro last week from Blue Square Premier side Histon until the end of the season and was named on the bench for Saturday’s 4-0 win over Macclesfield Town.

The 22-year-old, who made his Histon debut in a Boxing Day draw with Cambridge United in 2008, has a contract with basement side Histon until the end of the season.

Speaking to The Comet, the former Bishop’s Stortford stopper says he hopes to learn from experienced Boro duo Chris Day and Ashley Bayes during his spell with the club.

“I worked hard at Histon but things haven’t been plain sailing down there, things have been up and down and I didn’t get as many games under my belt as I would have liked but I’ve been given this opportunity and I hope to take it.

“The first I heard about (Boro’s interest) was when I got a phone call on Thursday when Graham said he saw me early doors in the season and he’d kept an eye on me and I signed.

“(Stevenage) are on their way up, they’re ambitious and I want to work hard, get my head down, work the best I can and see what happens at the end of the season.

“Day and Bayes, they’re both top quality ‘keepers, they’ve been there and done it, they have that experience and I hope I can learn as much as I can off them.”