David McAllister has played a “strong part” in Stevenage’s recent improvement, according to manager Graham Westley.

The midfielder made 14 appearances for the club during a successful loan spell earlier this season before he returned to his parent club, Shrewsbury Town. He reached an argeement with Shrewsbury on the remainder of his contract last week and joined Stevenage on Tuesday.

“He did well when he was here on loan. It was my intention to keep him here and it’s good that we have got something done,” said Westley.

“He’s not been here for last two games so we need to remember that no player can have an overstated importance; it doesn’t help the team to be dependant on any player. One thing is for sure, he’s done well since he’s been here, worked hard and played a strong part in the team improving. It’s nice to have him back as part of the team and part of the squad but we need to be able to win games without X, Y, Z in the squad.

The former Shrewsbury Town mifielder heads to his old stomping ground on Saturday when Boro take on Micky Mellon’s side, but Westley was keen to nip that storyline in the bud.

“It’s not relevant. It’s not David McAllister versus Shrewsvbury. It’s Stevenage that are going there to do the job and David is now part of our camp,” he said.

“It’s obviously important that we get our head on the game and David is treating as he would any other game. We’ve got his knowledge of their camp but I’m sure they’ll be alert to that and it won’t be that much of a factor, albeit he does know each players’ strengths and weaknesses.”