Alex Revell says he has learnt from past mistakes after taking on the job of Stevenage manager again - and he has the blessing of mentor Steve Evans too.

The 40-year-old was previously boss at the Lamex Stadium for 18 months during 2020 and 2021.

A lot has changed since then too. Then he and the club were battling demotion back to non-league whereas this time he takes over after dropping out of the League One play-off battle in the final weeks.

He has changed too and he is confident that this time around he can make a difference.

"That's the elephant in the room really," he said.

"For me it’s like when you learn to drive and you pass your test. 

"You go home, you take the L plates off, put your arm out the window but you're not ready, you still have [loads] to learn. You've still got to get experience. 

"I wasn’t ready for that but when I left, I never blamed anyone else, it was down to me. 

"I got the opportunity to manage an incredible football club, an opportunity I couldn't turn down, and I thought I was ready.  

"Since that time. I've managed to reflect and look back and I’ve managed to look back and learn from someone who is a fantastic teacher. 

"I asked the question to [Steve Evans] before he left and he said 'you're ready to go’. 

"That means a lot to me personally because it shows how far I’ve come, it shows the resilience I have in myself, to realise that I wasn't ready, I did make mistakes. 

"But that's how you learn, you have to learn from that, and now I have absolute complete clarity in in the way we need to go, the way that we need to play and the way that everybody needs to see this club.

"I’m just really excited now and look forward to this challenge." 

More than three weeks has passed since Evans departed Boro for Rotherham United and in that time there were a lot of names mentioned for the post, even if there wasn't really one stand-out favourite among the external candidates.

Revell believes it was right for both club and himself to take stock of their situation and take the time to make sure the appointment was "100 per cent right".

He said: "This is an amazing club for anyone and there would have been a lot of suitors, we’ve seen some of the people that were linked. 

"We had an amazing manager here for the last two years who has brought this club up to where we needed it to be and showcased what we are. 

"I've been lucky enough to learn from him and the conversations I had with the chairman were that we don't want to change. 

"There's a fantastic group of people here now and we've got a great group to work with now the players are all signed up. 

"We haven’t got to go out and get loads of players but we have to add and we have to improve of course. 

"But we don't want to change the identity of what's been created here over the last few years."

He inherits almost all of the squad that took Stevenage to the fringes of the play-offs, a vital factor ahead of a hugely pivotal transfer window.

Revell said: "We're lucky we have those players signed because it's going to be a difficult market this summer for sure. 

"We all know defensively we've been outstanding this year and have some outstanding talent. You know, 19 clean sheets is pretty, amazing really.  

"We have to keep that solidity but in terms of our attacking wise, we need to add. We need to get more numbers in the box and we need to get more goals to put ourselves in a position to win more games. 

"We'll be judged on that, winning games, and what I say is we need to sprinkle some ice and sugar on top of what we already have, just to finish the cake off."