[themaclad]

Stevenage manager Steve Evans has extended his contract with the automatic promotion-chasing League Two club until June 2025.

When the 60-year-old Scot was appointed in mid-March, Stevenage had not won in nine games and sat 22nd in League Two, three points above the relegation zone.

But they lost just two of their last seven games of the 2021-22 season.

Having stayed up, this season they have lost just three times in 24 games to sit in second place in League Two.

They are just two points behind leaders Leyton Orient - with a 12-point cushion to fourth-placed Carlisle United, who currently head the play-off contenders.

Latest League Two table
"Our results since Steve arrived speak for themselves." said chairman Phil Wallace.

"We have increased our budget this season, but it is the selection of players that has made the difference.

"Steve and Leon Hunter, working together with players and agents respectively, have brought not only good players, but great characters.

"We are still determined to run a tight ship financially and conduct smart business, but the spirit and camaraderie that Steve has built amongst the group is admirable.

"We have had too many seasons in dark places, and we are enjoying where we are now."

The news of Evans' extended deal came on the day his side head to the Midlands to face Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup.

Stevenage is Evans' eighth club, after starting with the first of two spells at Boston United in 1998.

He has since also managed Crawley Town, Rotherham United, who he guided to the Championship in 2014, Leeds United, Mansfield Town, Peterborough United and Gillingham, who he left in January 2022.

Evans has taken charge of more than 1,000 games as a manager, almost 600 of them in the EFL.

[themaclad]

Stevenage have signed forward Josh March from Forest Green Rovers for an undisclosed fee.

The 25-year-old scored six goals in 33 appearances for Forest Green this season after helping them win promotion from League Two last term.

Stevenage boss Steve Evans said it had taken a "six-month chase" to sign March.

"He is everything we were looking for," Evans said. "He is quick, has a great work ethic and is a goalscorer."

[themaclad]

Stevenage manager Steve Evans has agreed a new, improved contract to stay at the League One club until June 2026.

Evans, 61, has been in charge at the Lamex Stadium since March 2022 and got the club promoted into the third tier last season for the first time in a decade.

They are currently seventh in the table, two points off the play-offs.

"The results since Steve joined us in March 2022 speak for themselves," chairman Phil Wallace said.

"This isn't about the results of the last few games - or even this season.

"We've moved from being a League Two struggler to a League One side challenging for promotion to the Championship."

Stevenage are still firmly in the promotion-chasing picture, with a game in hand on sixth-placed Oxford United.

They were in the top three in the early portion of the season, but struggled to keep the pace with the three former Premier League clubs - Portsmouth, Bolton and Derby - at the top.

A lean February so far has seen them take just four points from four league games, most recently going down 3-2 to Bristol Rovers, having led 2-0.

"The points gained from the last three games are not what we expected or needed, but experiences like this make us even more determined to finish in a top-six place," Wallace added.

"I enjoy working with Steve and his experience of so many players, over so many levels, is a great asset to us.

"This improved deal creates time to plan for a longer term and allows us to have a recruitment policy that provides for both success and sustainability for years to come".

Stevenage face a tricky trip to the second-placed Rams, who cruised past Exeter 3-0 on Tuesday.