GRAHAM WESTLEY: We know the odds will be against us when we face Everton but we don't care... I'm ready to slay another giant!

PUBLISHED: 02:00 EST, 24 January 2014 | UPDATED: 04:46 EST, 24 January 2014


Graham Westley talks about his difficult season at Stevenage

Graham Westley is currently in his third spell in charge of League One side Stevenage. The Boro currently lie bottom of the third tier but will take a welcome break from league action when they host Everton in the FA Cup fourth round at the Lamex Stadium this weekend. In his latest Footballers' Football Column, Westley explains how he's trying to turn things around at Stevenage and why Roberto Martinez's Premier League high-flyers could be in for a shock on Saturday...

 

It has not been the best year for me. I was sacked by Preston North End in February last year after just 13 months but then I returned to my spiritual home in Stevenage at a time when the club had suffered 14 defeats in 17 games.

We won the first game after my return and followed that up with a draw at Portsmouth to ensure survival, but we are currently bottom of League One after a difficult first half to the season.

Frequent visitor: Graham Westley is in his third spell in charge of Stevenage after he was sacked by Preston

Frequent visitor: Graham Westley is in his third spell in charge of Stevenage after he was sacked by Preston

My job now involves reducing costs rather than signing players. It was a difficult season at the club last season, before I returned the crowds were on the slide, cup runs were non-existent and player sales drying up. As a result I had to do my bit to solve the financial problem that I inherited.

I am philosophical about things. I wish I could add the players that we need but I can’t so I have to develop them.

That is the job so I’m certainly not going to complain about it. That is the challenge here. We have signed 12 players this year including three loanees, but they are mainly players from lower levels needing development or young players with potential but little experience.

We have moved 15 out and five more experienced lads are listed to go. The team has suffered from all the change, naturally, but the work had to be done for the good of the club in the long term.

Sometimes you have to take brave steps and some pain to reverse direction. It has been a tough first half to the season.

Up for the cup: Stevenage beat Doncaster to set up an FA Cup Fourth Round tie with Everton

Up for the cup: Stevenage beat Doncaster to set up an FA Cup Fourth Round tie with Everton

But now that things are settling down, it is up to us to produce 20 strong league performances that secure us our League One place next season; and I mean sooner rather than later. We can do that. I have no doubt. I don’t plan to go into April feeling nervous!

But the FA Cup has provided welcome relief with wins over Portsmouth, Stourbridge and Doncaster creating the fourth-round place that saw us draw Everton, a side we played in the Capital One Cup earlier in the season.

We lost narrowly in extra time at Goodison to a late Marouane Fellaini goal. And although they were at a formative stage in Roberto Martinez’s tenure, we gave a good account of ourselves. Greg Tansey came close to winning it for us at the end of normal time.

We are 100 per cent a better side now. And I can say 100 per cent, that they will not play a stronger side than us at Goodison Park this season.

Late show: Marouane Fellaini scored the winner when Everton beat Stevenage in the Capital One Cup

Late show: Marouane Fellaini scored the winner when Everton beat Stevenage in the Capital One Cup

In front: Luke Freeman put Stevenage in the lead but Everton hit back
Equaliser: Gerard Deulofeu levelled matters to take the tie to extra time

Tight: Luke Freeman opened the scoring but Gerard Deulofeu forced extra time with the equaliser

   

More from The Footballers' Column...

 

Their game against Liverpool on Tuesday is too big for Roberto to do that. He would be hung drawn and quartered if Romelu Lukaku and Co missed out on Tuesday because of Saturday’s game. This is Champions League qualification we are talking about.

But whatever the game looks like on paper, we know that the odds will be against us, despite our strong giant-killing record. That doesn’t worry us. But it is a fact.

The big issues in the game are unlikely to be too different from the game at the Lamex Stadium in January 2011 in which we knocked out Alan Pardew’s Newcastle.

We won that game because we knew our pitch, because we kept our discipline in a competitive clash whilst they saw red, because we executed a very well prepared game plan, and frankly because we wanted to win more than them on the day.

The pitch isn’t in the best condition because of the weather; our groundstaff are first class people and professionals but the volume of rain has killed them. The pitch is difficult which will give us a huge advantage because we have been able to train on it and really familiarise ourselves with it.

Our focus on strong discipline was really turned up when we opened our doors ten days ago and ran a joint workshop for the players with the Referees' Association. It was a great success and we received fantastic feedback. We just want our learning lads to better understand the dos and don’ts and to learn to work with officials for the good of the game.

Our game plan has to be right because of the quality of the players we will face. The fact that we have a number of our lads with their own Premier League experiences Filipe Morais, Chris Day, Jimmy Smith, Ben Chorley and Luke Freeman, Dean Parrett has played in the Europa League with Spurs and we have another player who has won promotion to the Premier League. It simply underpins our knowledge that you cannot underestimate the lads we will be facing. It also ensures that we won’t overestimate anyone either.

And then at a will to win level, there can be no ambiguity. Everton can take the prize money in their stride. We can’t. It fundamentally changes our club if we win. That is the scale of the victory for us. We simply have to run through brick walls, in the right way.

Whilst I am building a strategy and bringing Stevenage back to life I remain a strong minded character and regular contributor to the media. talkSPORT regularly feature my ‘Big Idea’ and just last week I talked about introducing a requirement on clubs to play a certain percentage of their playing hours through home-grown under 20s.

For the long term benefit of the game, we should force managers to play youngsters. It would stimulate managerial interest in youth structures and it would ensure that the necessity to get results didn’t stifle opportunities for talent to grow. Our better youngsters would improve faster, I am convinced.

Struggling: Stevenage are currently bottom of League One and most recently lost to Notts County (above)

Struggling: Stevenage are currently bottom of League One and most recently lost to Notts County (above)

I believe that a fourth substitute – who is under 20 - could be introduced to facilitate some of the required hours being deployed from the bench.

I am determined to be a success and it will not be a surprise to see Stevenage begin to rise once more, and the odds probably aren’t stacked as heavily against Boro as I might think in the cup.

I am up for the challenge and ready to slay another giant at the Lamex.

 

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Westley is a man with an enormous ego-havent seen him shouting his mouth off too much this season with his season rock bottom of league one

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how does this fella get zoo much media attention? He's an idiot of the highest order. Just look at Preston North End fans thoughts on him

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OK we`re not a giant in terms of winning silverware but to Stevenage we are but I`m afraid we`ll batter them, we are as good as anyone in the country right now. Lukaku is the best striker in the prem too. Don`t mean any disrespect but Stevenage will be lucky to keep the score down and we`ll win that cup this season too.

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Mac, are you really a blue? We know that we should easily win at Stevenage, but we're Everton, we know only too well what can happen, and we should know better than to go around shouting that!. And Lukaku? We seem to have broke him like we did Jelavic.

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I think Everton will play a stronger team than when we played in the cup. When we met them in the cup earlier in the season we hadn't signed Lukaku, Barry, McCarthy or McGeady. I think Lukaku will play on Saturday (we don't really have anyone else other than Vellios who hasn't kicked a ball all season!). McGeady will probably start as he's short on match fitness. Injuries to Coleman and Alcaraz will probably see Stones at RB so Jags and Distin will start at centre half. My bet for the team Joel, Stones, Jags, Distin, Oviedo, Barry, Osman, Mirallas, Naismith, McGeady and Lukaku. These are the type of games that make the FA Cup so special!

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We have the best midfield in the prem now.

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