"I never saw it in him": Warne on Revell's success at Stevenage

The success of Stevenage manager Alex Revell has come as a surprise to MK Dons boss Paul Warne.

The duo worked together at Rotherham United, where Warne was a coach and Revell leading the line. Warne admitted he never saw the striker as a future manager but is delighted to see him thriving at the Lamex Stadium.

Revell is no stranger to Dons supporters either, making 17 appearances for the club in the Championship, scoring four goals.

Stevenage reached the play-offs last season, but were beaten by Stockport County in the semi-final, and have hit good form of late to see them sitting inside the League One top ten after ten games.

With Dons heading to Hertfordshire this Saturday, Warne was full of praise for his old friend and said Boro should be very grateful to have him.

“He’s taken to it very well,” Warne said. “He’s played in promotion-winning teams, scored some amazing goals and had some amazing memories with his family.

“I never saw it in him, going into management, but he’d say it about me too.

“The job of a manager is to get the best out of the group, and I think he gets the best out of his group. Stevenage are happy to have him and will do well to keep hold of him.

“I’m biased because I really like him. But you can’t deny the fact he got them to the play-offs when no-one expected it. You can’t deny they beat Plymouth 3-0 at home the other day when no-one possibly expected that either. He’s doing an amazing job.

“I’m so pleased for him. You don’t always get that second opportunity, because people are quick to write you off. He’s gone in, he’s done things in a slightly different way there. He lost a few key players in the summer but it doesn’t look like it has affected them that badly.

“They work really hard, they can play, can score and have conceded the third least amount of goals in the league. I think he will go on to have a brilliant managerial career.”

Speaking about the game between the sides, Warne continued: “It’ll be tough, obviously. I’ve always had tough times at Stevenage, I know how hard it is to play there. They’re a really good home side, they come after you, press you, they’re athletic and we’ll have to be at our best.

“Any half-chances, any opportunities to score and to put them under pressure, we’ll have to take them. We’re not really used to going into games as an underdog, and for the first time, possibly we are and I’d like to see the sorts of characters we’ve got.”