Stevenage manager Graham Westley has played down the signing of Ben Kennedy.

https://twitter.com/Ben_Kennedy6/status/568039851293085696

The 18-year-old signed his first professional contract on Wednesday, just days after scoring twice in Boro’s 3-1 win at Hartlepool.

With excitement surrounding the deal, Westley did his best to keep Kennedy’s feet firmly on the ground.

“He’s a young lad who has had a couple of games and scored a couple of goals. He did alright last weekend [at Hartlepool] and not so well as Mansfield Town,” he said. “He’s a young kid with an opportunity, it’s up to him how he takes it.”

He added: “We want to give the young lads a chance to show what they can do over the course of 12 months; he’s made a start but it’s very early days.”

Stevenage’s academy has done a good job of bringing through talent in the last two seasons, it is now up to the players to cement their place in the squad by consistently performing in training and match days, according to Westley.

“We’ve given games to Ryan Johnson, Fejiri Okenabirhie, Joe N’Guessan,” he said. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating and when you get a George Boyd come through, you know you’re in business. The challenge is to make a consistent difference and earn a consistent place in the squad, that’s the challenge to all the young players in the squad.”