Alarm bells may be ringing about the standard of football referees but Stevenage manager Steve Evans has faith that Howard Webb and the other top brass can make things better - regardless of the size of the task.

The Stevenage manager has been stung and hurt over the last few weeks by officials admitting they got big decisions wrong and with apologies having to be made by Mike Riley, the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited

Riley steps down in June with Webb replacing him and the Boro boss believes the standards can and will improve under the new head.

Evans said: "There are some very good referees in the select group for Premier League and Championship and there are some excellent referees in League Two. 

"We have been fortunate to have a lot of them this year but unfortunately everyone focuses on the poor referees and the bad decisions. 

"The Premier League themselves are very frustrated and as an organisation, they've come out to say they are disappointed at referring standards. 

"And the standards in League One and Two are even more alarming.

"The people who head up the referees have a challenge that is unprecedented. 

"From a management point of view, talking with colleagues across League One and Two, there are real alarm bells with the standards that are being applied.

"We have to take what we get and take what is there [no VAR] and I have the greatest empathy and sympathy for referees.

"I don’t like refereeing little eight or nine-a-side games here. You give a decision and you know four of five of the opposition are convinced it was never a foul. 

"But we need to address the standards, we need to get the big calls right. We have to coach and educate our referees to make them better so they get those decisions right in the future. 

"There seem to be a lot [of the big call decisions going wrong] and at key times of the season. 

"And that’s for every club, not just us. We’ve had decisions go in favour where I’ve been sat with opposition managers and said ‘we shouldn’t have got that’.

"I want to repeat there are a lot of good referees. 

"I look at Andre Marriner, simply top class. Howard Webb has come in to head it up and I got to know Howard reasonably well because he is a big Rotherham fan and Rotherham person. 

"So because of the success we had at Rotherham, we spent a lot of hours together. 

"But when I watched him referee, I never noticed him until afterwards. Andy D’Urso, who is now one of the coaches, he may get criticised by one set of fans if he gives a foul against you or whatever, but as a neutral, you didn’t notice him. 

"The problem we’ve got at the minute is that the neutrals who come to games are noticing them. 

"They’ve got to be coached, maybe they have to get to the angles better, become fitter, but the wonderful news is we have Howard in and he has the highest of standards. 

"He’ll sort it, the ones at the EFL are minded to sort it. They don’t want to be apologising to me and others, they want to be saying the referee got that right. 

"And if we look at the decisions and the referee has got it right, the complaints stop, the moaning stops and we tell the players to stop talking about it because it is a foul and it is a penalty."

The decision of Ollie Yates to award Newport County a 86th-minute penalty in the 2-2 draw on Tuesday night was the last straw for the Scot who says the decisions that have gone against them in recent weeks have been tough to swallow.

He said: "The way it feels at the minute is, if you want a free shot at goal from the penalty spot, just play against Stevenage. 

"It just seems like we get penalties against us and that’s a generalisation, not specific.

"Look at the Stoke game and the Newport game. As my captain said the other night, sometimes it feels personal. 

"I’ve always said to referees, and I’ve heard managers in the Premier League start to say it too, but we don’t care about free-kicks on the halfway line. 

"Yes, we’ll throw our arms up and want the foul, we’ll all want the throw-in but it’s the big decisions [we want right], big decisions that impact the game. 

"Someone tell me that the foul of my goalkeeper at Newport isn’t a red card, because nobody has. 

"I’ve had a couple of referees, albeit local ones, look at it and say it’s late and it’s dangerous and it’s a red.  

"But I will say this about the referee. 

"He is a very honest kid, a very honest guy. When I went in [after the game to speak to him], there was none of the shenanigans we had against Bradford or Stoke where they talked down to you. 

"It was a very level conversation, he gave his explanations and we said we would review it. 

"He came across as a really good young professional and I know when he reviews some of the footage, he will be hurting.  

"He is one that the group of head referees will want to make better."