Stevenage boss Graham Westley is expecting a stern test this weekend at Roots Hall when his charges take on Phil Brown’s Southend United.

Boro and the Shrimpers both won their opening fixture 1-0, against Hartlepool and Accrington Stanley respectively, and are expected to be near the top of the table by the end of the season.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s match on the coast, Westley said: “I expect a test every time we play, home or away. Every opposition will relish the opportunity to try to challenge us and I think that there will be no games where we’ll win three points without being on top of ourselves.

“The challenge is going to be there [against Southend] and we really have to get ourselves right to win three points.”

Brown and Westley’s sides both exited the Captial One Cup on Tuesday, with Stevenage losing 1-0 after receiving a thorough “examination” from Championship side Watford.

Despite the disappointment of being dumped out of the cup, Westley saw plenty of positives.

“Our job is to win matches and when you get the opportunity in cup game to win your way through to the next round you wan to do that; I’m not going to pretend there’s not a sense of disappointment,” he said.

“But, as always in football, if you get disappointment you have to be constructive. We were disappointed to get relegated, more that disappointed, but our attitude to it was let’s be positive about taking the next steps in building the club’s future.

“The positive is to learn the lessons that are there to be learned and we will become better for it. If we do keep getting stronger then this is going to be a very good side.”