Terence Vancooten admitted he had his work cut out playing in the 0-0 draw at home to Tranmere Rovers but says having the steady hand of Scott Cuthbert alongside him is making him a better player.

The point took Stevenage's improved run in League Two to one loss in eight and has seen the centre-half pairing, along with the rest of the team, claim three clean sheets.

And this latest one came despite the Merseyside side launching cross after cross towards the 23-year-old man of the match and the skipper, some causing no end of trouble.

“[There were] so many,” he said with a weary smile. “We worked on that a lot during the week because we knew they were going to do that.

“It worked and we kept a clean sheet.

"I never used to enjoy that side of the game [heading] but playing alongside Scotty I feel like I have to.

"I’m getting better and I would love to be like him in the air one day but I’ll just keep working on getting my timing right in training and I’ll get soon."

It's never quiet when you are playing with the experienced Scot, but Vancooten says that his constant talking and encouragement is invaluable to a good performance.

He said: "It keeps all the boys switched on because it is that split second when you switch off, that’s when they are though on goal.

"It’s a pleasure to play alongside him."

TVC as he is known is also delighted to be getting regular playing time this year, and says the building confidence around the Lamex Stadium is helping to make life very enjoyable at the minute.

"It’s always nice to get that run of games," he said. "I’ve been waiting for that moment for a while so now I’ve got to take it and show everyone what I’m about.

"The atmosphere around the place is amazing at the moment too, even among the boys that aren’t playing. We’re all together, everyone is happy and everyone is putting in the work.

"It is a good environment.

"It wasn’t an easy game [against Tranmere]. We came in with a game plan but they have seen our clips and knew how we wanted to play so we had to adapt.

“Moving forward we have to learn how to do that and put the emphasis on that.”