Strong words turned a disappointing first half into a very pleasing final outcome at Crewe Alexandra for Stevenage - and the Old Firm win for his beloved Glasgow Celtic was the icing on the cake for manager Steve Evans.

Boro won 2-1 thanks to a second-half double for Jamie Reid, cancelling out a first-half header from Rodney McDonald for the home side.

"It’s a great day when we win away from home and Glasgow Celtic beat Rangers," said a beaming Boro boss. "It doesn’t get much better than that unless we win the lottery.

"We started really well for the first 15 minutes, they haven’t got out of their own half.

"We were by far the better side but saying that, we haven’t been lively in the final third even though we worked hard.

"I’ve got no problem with the penalty, I think is is a pen, but Taye keeps it at 0-0.

"We go1-0 down and it is fair to say that’s the strongest words I’ve used to the group at half-time.

"We changed the system and were a little bit braver. I’d have taken a 4-0 defeat but we had to implement the plan.

"We’ve won 2-1 but it could have been four or five at the end."

Reid is now the club's top scorer this term and Evans says the difference in his attitude this season from last is noticeable.

He said: "Jamie has been really good for us. He works so hard for us and his stats for distance and the intensity of his running this season from last has doubled.

"That tells you something.

"Jordan Roberts coming on gave us an impetus but the changes we made at half-time, they didn’t really react to it until we got in front.

"And from then, bar the odd cross into the box or a mistake, it was never going to be anything other than a Stevenage win."

The three points move Stevenage up to second in the League Two table, three points behind an unbeaten Leyton Orient.

Evans though believes it is just a small step on the road to his overall plan for the club.

The boss said: "I’m not going to come out with the usual spin nonsense that managers come out with about not looking at league tables.

"You look at them after the first game but what happens is you want to look at them some weeks and not others.

"We’ve got our objectives about being top half of the table going into the Christmas period but there’s no pressure on us in terms of getting into that group.

"But the fans know when we turn up, we are going to be committed, we are going to be passionate and we are going to care.

"There is no hidden secret to whether you are successful. You are successful by having players that compete and work incredibly hard."