ONE man more than most will relish Stevenage Boro s annual visit of Premiership giants Spurs. New Boro boss Mark Stimson spent a decade at White Hart Lane in two spells as player and then a coach. And he also helped the Spurs old boys win the Masters comp

ONE man more than most will relish Stevenage Boro's annual visit of Premiership giants Spurs.

New Boro boss Mark Stimson spent a decade at White Hart Lane in two spells as player and then a coach.

And he also helped the Spurs old boys win the Masters competition at the weekend.

So Stimson is eagerly anticipating the visit of Martin Jol and his players to Broadhall Way on Tuesday night (8pm ko).

Stimson (pictured below right) said: "I was there five seasons as a player in my younger days and then went back to coach part-time at the Spurs Academy.

"I'm looking forward to it and it's something the players are definitely looking forward to.

"All these games against Championship and Premiership sides are fantastic for the club and something that I struggled to have at my previous club, Grays.

"The players are getting their fitness and hopefully they will play 75 or 80 minutes against Spurs rather than just a half or even an hour."

While Spurs' World Cup party may not be there - the English quartet of Paul Robinson, Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon and Jermaine Jenas plus South Korean Young-Pyo Lee and new signing Didier Zokora from the Ivory Coast - there should still be plenty of talent on show.

New Bulgarian international striker Dimitar Berbatov could be joined by the likes of Jermain Defoe, Edgar Davids, Danny Murphy, Michael Dawson, Andy Reid, Anthony Gardner, Robbie Keane and even Ledley King.

Spurs could also include Rob Burch and Lee Barnard, who have played on loan at Boro in recent seasons.

Boro's game against Spurs' North London rivals Arsenal on Saturday, August 5, has been cancelled. The Gunners were unable to guarantee sending a squad due to their possible European commitments.

This fixture has been replaced by the visit of Kettering a day later (2pm ko). This will be Boro's final pre-season friendly before the Conference action kicks off on August 12.

Boro were playing QPR last night (Wednesday) and travel to Boreham Wood this Saturday.

A team of triallists, mostly teenagers, drew 1-1 at Thurrock on Tuesday night.

* THE remaining pre-season friendlies for Stevenage Boro are:

Saturday, July 22: Boreham Wood (away, 3pm ko)

Tuesday, July 25: SPURS (home, 8pm ko)

Wednesday, July 26: Cheshunt (away, 7.45pm ko) - Boro XI

Saturday, July 29: Farnborough (away, 1pm ko)

Tuesday, August 1: Bedford Town (away, 7.45pm ko)

Wednesday, August 2: Hitchin Town (away, 7.45pm ko) - Boro XI

Sunday, August 6: KETTERING (home, 2pm ko)