A really positive week for Stevenage and a really positive result against Hartlepool United was just part of reason for the broad smile on manager Alex Revell's face.

The 2-0 win at the Lamex Stadium, courtesy of goals from Jamie Reid and Elliott List, was Boro's first win in eight League Two games.

But their graft on the training paddock made the victory all the more sweeter.

Revell said: "They were tough conditions to play in but it was all about winning the game.

"You want to play in a certain way but the most important thing was winning.

"It’s been a really positive week. It was all about how we press and how we play to our structure.

"At times we saw that. We saw that for Elliott List’s goal. It was a fantastic through ball from Elliot Osborne but that’s what we practice every day.

"We really controlled some of the out of possession stuff.

"I know it didn’t always look like we were pressing but they are a crossing side so to stop them from doing that was a really big thing.

"We restricted them to very little in the first half and attacked the moment we got the ball.

"They stuck to the plan and defended magnificently well."

The victory came under grey foreboding skies and increscent rain but once they got their noses in front, they were never truly worried.

It is now a case of building on that in the weeks to come.

The boss said: "It’s always important to get the first goal but especially with the way recent results have gone for us.

"The last time we were here [against Forest Green Rovers] was obviously disappointing but we’ve come a long way from then.

"We found ourselves in a lot of positive situations today with chances created and the number of times we were through on goal.

"We could have been out of sight but it’s a clean sheet and something to really build on.

"The players have belief in what we are doing and a belief in the structure.

"And they can go away knowing they have had a good day in terms of the result.

"We just need to keep building. The character was never in question and it is now about showing people how good we can be."