A battling point away to Swindon Town filled Stevenage manager Paul Tisdale with plenty of pride.

The 0-0 draw was a deserved point for Boro and while it is not the first three of the new man's reign, he saw more than enough to tell him they are on the right track against a side who could have moved at least fifth with a win of their own.

"We think we could have won it," said Tisdale.

"I’ve just thanked the players. I asked them to stick to a couple of structural points and they did it, their discipline was excellent.

"But I was really impressed with the way we connected. We engaged in that structure and took parts of the pitch and made it our own.

"Although they had some possession, we some excellent chances, probably the best chances of the game.

"I’m just really proud of them and we march on. This is a good point and a really good step forward for our belief."

The one worry was this was a third game without a goal for Boro but the boss feels they are tantalisingly close to changing that stat.

He said: "We’re a fraction away from scoring two or three.

"It’s all ifs but we’re putting the ball in the right areas and putting players in there.

"Every game will be different and we have to apply ourselves.

"We are getting a rhythm in the way we’re going forwarded now, which I am pleased about.

"There’s certainly a tenacity in the way we break."

On the positive front though was the clean sheet, the first in his tenure.

And that was down to a brave choice where they allowed the Robins to have the ball for large periods.

Tisdale said: "You have to have some nerve when you accept the opposition will have possession in certain areas.

"Their discipline was excellent, it was connected and they engaged all of the way through.

"Some of our play was messy but what I’ve got to do is build a team mentality and energy and engagement.

"We had that against a really good team who pass the ball and are threatening at the top end of the table."

This was their final game of 2021 and they begin the new year with as difficult a task as they could possibly have - away to league leaders Forest Green Rovers.

After that though will come the madness of the January transfer window.

Stevenage had already signed one, goalkeeper Christy Pym on loan from Championship side Peterborough United, and they won't stop there according to the boss.

However, the performance in the Swindon game has filled him with more hope.

He said: "We’ve identified a few players [we want to sign] and it sounds a lot easier than it is but it isn’t.

"But we’ve challenged ourselves to bring in a number of players to support those that we have.

"But then they played like they didn’t want to lose their shirts which is great.

"That’s how it should be, it needs to be competitive and it gives me the chance to rest and move players.

"Charlie Carter was back and I’ve only seen him in training for two days but those two days gave me the confidence to put him on for the last 10 minutes and he could easily have made something happen.

"I want a bench where I could affect the game late on and I had that."

Stevenage's trip to Tranmere Rovers, postponed in November because of damage to the stands at Prenton Park in the winds of Storm Arwen, has been re-arranged for February 1.