Evans 'would rather have another week or two' but says Stevenage will be ready for Cobblers clash

Stevenage manager Steve Evans admits he would like ‘another week or two’ to feel fully prepared for the new season, but there will be ‘no excuses’ as his side kick-off the new campaign against Northampton at Sixfields tomorrow.

The Boro boss has been a busy man this summer, recruiting 11 new players for his side’s League One campaign, including this week’s new arrivals, defender Finley Burns and forward Aaron Pressley, both of whom are available for Saturday. Elliott List could also feature after returning to training but Terence Vancooten, Dan Sweeney and Harry Anderson are all likely to be absent.

Stevenage and Northampton finished within one place and two points of each other as both won promotion from League Two last season and they will immediately get reacquainted on Saturday, although Evans admits in an ideal world that he’d like a bit more preparation time.

"I would rather have another week or two but I think every manager would say that,” he said. “We’re only just getting to the back end of finalising our squad but there’ll be no excuses from us.

"Most of our squad has been in place since we got back for pre-season and we’ve slowly added to it and there’s no doubt we’ve added some quality to it. We pick the team with integrity and honesty and I’ll pick the lads who deserve to play against Northampton.

"We're in good shape in terms of numbers. It’s like Christmas Eve for managers. We all have aims and ambitions and we’re going up into a league that will be really challenging for us. You only have to look at some of the clubs in the division. It’s a real stern challenge but we’re ready for it.”