
7 ways Steve Evans has turned Stevenage into League One high-flyers

EFL pundit Gab Sutton dissects how Steve Evans has converted League Two strugglers Stevenage into League One’s high-flyers.
1. Ruthless First Summer
After narrowly keeping Stevenage up in 2021/22, following his March appointment, Steve Evans felt he had an existing group of players who would be capable of taking his side into midtable, which would have been a respectable first season.
The Scot, though, is nothing if not ambitious, and with the aim of turning Boro into a top-10 side at the level, he released 16 players and sold a further two, although teenage goalkeeper Elyh Harrison’s departure to Manchester United was a call he likely didn’t have much to do with.
18 departures created space for 13 incomings, of which nine were overwhelming success stories, and that’s excluding David Amoo and Dean Campbell, who inspired one of the most famous victories in the club’s history, a 2-1 FA Cup triumph at Aston Villa.
2. Starting with a Tight-Knit Group
In the first half of last season, Evans stuck to a tight-knit group of 16 players. Of those, the quintet of goalkeeper Taye Ashby-Hammond, defenders Dan Sweeney, Terence Vancooten and Carl Piergianni, plus midfielder Jake Reeves, he would start (more or less) every league game they were fit for.
He would rotate, though, in the wing-back spots between Luther Wildin and Kane Smith respectively, and Saxon Earley and Max Clark, on the right and left respectively.
Alex Gilbey and Jordan Roberts were the most common partners for Reeves in midfield, but Jake Taylor at times came in for either and it was a similar role for striker Jamie Reid, who was drafted in on occasions for Danny Rose or Luke Norris but wasn’t initially first choice.
Why the 16-man policy? It gave Evans the means to switch things up in roles in the team that came with extra physical demands, whilst also retaining continuity in the areas where that was most important.
At that stage of Stevenage’s development, having a tight-knit group whilst establishing a synergy and understanding on the field was a key priority, especially after a difficult few years.
Once that understanding was established, it was a case of adding depth, and Evans has managed the timescale of the squad building expertly.
3. Piergianni Leading the Charge
Piergianni produced one of the greatest ever seasons seen from a League Two centre-back in 2022/23, and was such an integral signing from Oldham.
From Evans’ point of view, he had the vision to spot a great player from a struggling team, which not every manager has and there is a stigma that comes with relegation, a fate Piergianni suffered with the Latics in 2021/22.
Plus, Evans also had the foresight to study the defender’s logistical situation: Piergianni is a Peterborough boy, and in knowing that, the Glaswegian communicated that he cared about the player, and made him feel wanted, which was part of getting the deal done.
After starring for Oldham in April 2022’s six-pointer, Piergianni has since done exactly the same only for the Boro rather than against them, and has been central to Evans’ recruitment plans to bring in tenacious, born leaders, who have a relentless mentality.
When speaking to #EFLDebate last summer, Evans mentioned ‘Pidge’ goes into the gym every day before training, and it’s something he’s actually had to “calm down” slightly.
Piergianni is such a humble character off the field, and with a happy, settled, family life, he’s intrinsically motivated and attacks his career for self-improvement, rather than a particular desire for the limelight.
With that attitude, the 31-year-old has been one of the strongest aerial defenders in both leagues he’s played in, despite only being 6’1”.
Piergianni can still play, and has a sweet left peg, but the mentality monster’s leadership qualities have been imperative to what Stevenage have, and continue to, achieve.
4. Responding to Adversity
Stevenage didn’t have the same challenges promotion rivals Northampton endured last season, in terms of a double-figured injury list throughout the second half of the campaign, and were fortunate in some ways to keep most of their key players fit for the duration.
Nonetheless, they had a strange situation in the goalkeeping position, when Ashby-Hammond got injured in January.
Jökull Andrésson, Adam Pryzbek, Toby Savin, Jon McCracken and Thimothée Lo-Tutala all came in from deadline day onwards, with Boro having six different keepers in the net in the second half of the campaign.
It wasn’t ideal for continuity, but Lo-Tutala finished the season admirably, with the Hull loanee showing the potential that earned him France Under-20s recognition, and playing a key part in the closing five victories in six which proved crucial to what Boro achieved.
Up top, meanwhile, Norris got injured in April’s 1-1 draw at Colchester and with Josh March also sidelined, after good form in February following his January arrival, and Jordan Roberts needed in midfield, Rose and Reid had to play 507 of the 540 minutes of football between then and promotion.
It would have been so easy for Rose or Reid to become jaded in such a demanding role, but they established a real synergy in the remaining games, without which Stevenage could easily have ended up in the Play-Offs.
5. Post-Promotion Planning
After Stevenage secured promotion, Evans was in the office for two weeks of squad planning before deferring duties to Director of Football Leon Hunter for a holiday.
Those two weeks were crucial to the start Boro have since had in League One, because he made some scientific decisions about who is ready for that next level.
For comparison, when Wrexham went up from the National League, owner Ryan Reynolds was with Director of Football Les Reed, telling him to draw up the contract for 40-year-old goalkeeper Ben Foster.
In their case, Foster retired a month into the following season, after conceding 13 goals from the first 20 shots on target he faced – they got it wrong because they weren’t able to separate the emotion, the loyalty, from the process.
The trick to management is being able to love your players, back your players, and trust them wholeheartedly during the season, yet at the same time, have a due process when it comes to making decisions over their futures that are taken in a much colder, more calculated headspace.
Max Clark, for instance: one of the most dependable, consistent left-backs in League Two in the second half of last season, after Saxon Earley was recalled by Norwich to be sold to Plymouth Argyle, and Josh Reid looked unable to replace him.
And yet, Evans wanted better for the step up, and he’s got Dan Butler, who has offered Boro a more League One seasoned version of Clark, and has been excellent from set pieces.
Similarly, Jake Taylor could easily have earned a new deal: he helped Wildin nullify Coutinho at Villa Park, and was so often a difference-maker from the bench over the season, bringing fresh tenacity to the midfield.
Evans, though, wanted more quality for the level, and Taylor going has allowed him to bring in the likes of Ben Thompson, Louis Thompson, Nick Freeman, Harvey White and Harrison Neal, which there just wouldn’t have been space for had he stayed.
6. Individual Game Plans
The biggest thing that stood out for Stevenage, in Saturday’s 3-0 victory at Cheltenham, was the detail in their work, which was streets ahead of the opposition.
Boro had an aggressive start, got their early goal, kept their powder dry by dropping in towards the end of the first half and defended their box well whilst riding their luck on one or two occasions, before going in for the kill in the second half.
The game panned out, one suspects, close to how Evans envisaged when he laid out his pre-match blueprint.
Boro had more precision in possession, and against the ball there was a clear plan of who presses, how, when, and where.
Jamie Reid and Charlie McNeill led it from the front, but Ben Thompson and Roberts would alternate in joining them, while Fin Burns would sit at the base of midfield and sweep things up, as well as sometimes dropping into defence when Nathan Thompson drove forward.
After absorbing some pressure in the first half, Stevenage started the second on the front-foot, and because their hosts were so low on confidence, they could win the ball on the halfway line at will, and instantly cut them wide open.
Key to this was Elliott List…
7. Belief in List
When Evans was at Gillingham, he gave List one start and three substitute appearances in 2019/20 before selling him to Stevenage, then one league below, that August.
The Scot couldn’t have seen enough in List back then to know what he was capable of, but the forward played a part in keeping Boro up in League Two with his contributions at the back-end of 2021/22, finishing the season top goalscorer with 13 in all competitions.
The following season, List got injured on the opening day at Tranmere and didn’t play again, because by the time he’d found fitness it was the business end of the season and couldn’t be risked.
Nonetheless, Evans clearly saw enough in the speedy forward in his first eight games, as well as through taking anecdotal evidence from the coaching staff that predated his appointment, to know he could be a big part of his plans for 2023/24.
As such, Danny Rose, Luke Norris and Josh March were all offloaded, and only three strikers came in, none of whom were a marquee description.
Kane Hemmings arrived off the back of a poor season with Tranmere, Aaron Pressley joined up after a tough couple of years with AFC Wimbledon and Accrington Stanley, while Manchester United loanee McNeill was stepping up from a positive half-season with Newport.
Bearing in mind Reid, himself, was coming up to this league for the first time, it seemed a lot of eggs were placed in the basket of a forward who had been out of action for a year, and the call might have been criticized had it gone wrong.
List, though, has made a bright start, and got his first goals post-injury in the victory at Whaddon Road, in which he tore open the opposing defence with his pace.
Speed isn’t something Stevenage have always had in abundance, and sometimes they have relied on Roberts for ball-carrying ability from midfield, or even pushing up as an auxiliary striker.
List, though, offers them a different dimension, and in a higher league, he could become a crucial player for the Boro, vindicating Evans’ judgment.
What Next?
Stevenage sit proudly in third, nine games in, with a whopping 18 points to their name, as last season’s defensive solidity continues with just six conceded.
While it’s still an early stage, the Hertfordshire outfit look well on their way to ticking off 50 points with minimal fuss, from which point they can reassess targets.
At many clubs, supporters are the ones expecting the world and the managers are the ones having to manage expectation, but at Stevenage it’s almost the opposite.
Older generations of the Boro fanbase have seen their club play non-league football for the first 34 years of it’s existence, while younger fans are more used to League Two, but either way they’re a grounded bunch who are happy as long as they see effort, commitment and togetherness.
Evans, though, is not around to make up the numbers, and spoke quite openly in the summer about his intentions to make a good fist of League One, and strive to be competitive in the top half of the league.
Whether Stevenage can do that after their great start remains to be seen, especially after a tough run of fixtures with top-14 performing opposition coming up in each of their next nine.
Evans is committed for the season, though, after staying amid interest from Hibernian, and on early evidence, this looks an open league.
Each of the relegated sides have significant problems, certainly in Wigan and Reading’s case, while big-hitters like Derby, Charlton, Barnsley and Peterborough look vulnerable for different reasons.
This season is still about consolidation for Stevenage, but if the usual suspects continue to faulter, Evans’ side are in a great position to profit.