Source: Daily_Mail
FA Cup giant-killers Stevenage seek the X-factor as they dance their way towards Wembley
Every player who joins Stevenage has to sing to his team-mates as an initiation. Unfortunately, so do nosey journalists who want to spend the day with Graham Westley's FA Cup giant-killers.[LNB]We Are The Champions was the song that was murdered on this occasion. The players joined in, they applauded, they laughed and then took great pleasure in revealing that there was more. Next up was dancing.[LNB]Once a week, a member of the squad has to entertain his team-mates with a sketch, song, joke or anything which qualifies as entertainment.[LNB] Strong bond: Togetherness, as well as talent, has got Stevenage where they are today[LNB]This week it was striker Yemi Odubade's turn and he gave a dancing lesson. Cue more music, more laughter and a severe lack of rhythm from one participant.[LNB]It is a strange idea of Westley's but a good one. Each week's act is posted on the club's website and it works wonders for team bonding. [LNB]Most of the build-up for the club's FA Cup fourth-round tie at home to Reading today will be intense and serious but Two Minutes To Win It provides some light relief.[LNB]'There is a lot of intensity at the club and we spend a lot of time together,' says captain Mark Roberts. 'It's important we get on well so things like Two Minutes To Win It break things up and make the day that bit easier. [LNB] Initiation: Sportsmail's Alex Kay had to perform a song and dance in front of the team[LNB]'I have done it twice and the second time I had my head shaved. I had a big mop of blond hair at the start of the season so the lads were keen for me to lose it.'[LNB]The variety is impressive. Goalkeeper Chris Day made a fez and did an impression of Tommy Cooper, defender Darius Charles tried to break the world record for smashing eggs against his head and others have played musical instruments.[LNB]It's different, but then things are generally a bit different at Stevenage. That is down to Westley, a 42-year-old slightly eccentric sergeant major-type whose playing career was ended by injury. [LNB]'I was playing for my country aged 18, keeping Paul Merson out of the England team,' he says. 'At any moment you can have the potential to go somewhere but you don't always fulfil it. As a manager I have potential, but that doesn't mean I will fulfil it because as a player I fell by the wayside.'[LNB]Westley certainly does have potential, something which came to the country's attention when his side beat Newcastle United 3-1 in the third round. [LNB] West is best: Graham Westley has an interesting take on management[LNB]The score flattered the Premier League side even though much of the attention afterwards focused on left back Scott Laird being punched by one of his own fans during the celebrations. It is an episode they are trying to forget. [LNB]Beating Newcastle is one of many successes for Westley: he got Stevenage promoted to the Football League, they are five points off the League Two play-offs with two games in hand and, in his second stint in charge of the club, he is coping well with the demands of modern footballers.[LNB]'Fine wines change and managers do. Everything is so different now. I'm dealing with white boots, black boots, purple boots, green boots, iPads on the coach, earphones on the pitch, earrings. The list goes on and you've got to get your team to love you despite the fact they are all different people. It's an art.'[LNB] On the up: Stevenage are considering increasing the capacity of their ground[LNB]Westley seeks to inspire his players in different ways. He's constantly talking to them and is very keen on filling the dressing room with things that motivate: family photos, paintings of Muhammad Ali, inspirational quotes. Every player is encouraged to bring mementoes into the dressing room.[LNB]'I love it when I see my boys' eyes looking back at me and I can sense they are going to eat whoever they are playing,' he adds. 'I could see that against Newcastle. I knew we were going to win. When you stand in the tunnel before a game, you usually know.'[LNB]Promotion has brought changes off the pitch, too. Chief executive Bob Makin and chairman Phil Wallace are in talks with the council about increasing the Lamex Stadium's capacity from 7,100 to 8,000 and the FA Cup run is helping the inevitable hike in the wage bill. [LNB]An average League Two player earns ?1,000 a week and Stevenage are trying to keep up with that. [LNB] Jumping for joy: With their promotion, captain Mark Roberts and the rest of his team were in line for a pay hike[LNB]'The change is like going from being a bloke who plays golf with his mates at the weekend to playing at Augusta in the Masters,' says Makin. [LNB]It's not just the manager who likes a simile. They may no longer be a small club but the FA Cup is the closest they can get to glamour. The players still wash their own kit, they use a recycling bin as an ice bath and the staff have multiple roles. [LNB]Administrator Lindsay Powell does everything from answering the emails to ordering the players' boots, while Press officer Carol Venables looks after catering on match days in addition to helping her boss husband Mark. [LNB]The Press office has a particularly family feel to it as daughter Emma helps edit the match-day programme. Today's will be all about creating another upset reaching the fifth round for the first time.[LNB] Family affair: The community feel at Stevenage is no more clear than in the press office with husband and wife team Mark Venables and Carol[LNB]'I've seen the younger players in the squad grow off the back of beating Newcastle,' says 35-year-old Day, who started his career at Tottenham. 'The magic of the Cup is still very much alive. I left school the year Tottenham beat Nottingham Forest to win the FA Cup in 1991, aged 15. I was sat behind the goal in which Paul Stewart equalised.[LNB]'Four or five weeks later I was cleaning his boots and being clipped round the ear by him every day. It was surreal. [LNB]'But my memory of the Cup goes back even further than that. I went to Spurs' training ground in 1981 as a six-year-old after Spurs won it and I got to lift the Cup. My sister dropped the Cup and broke the lid. Now I want to make FA Cup history myself.'[LNB]He and Stevenage have a chance and, if they do beat their Championship opponents today, there will be no shortage of singing, dancing and laughing. [LNB] Hammers legend Tony Gale still can't forgive Keith Hackett over infamous red cardEverton's Wembley heartache at the hands of Chelsea still hurts David MoyesSky sexism row ref Sian Massey told she must miss out... againReturn of the Saints: Ahead of Man United clash, we look back at 1976Herbert Chapman, in his own words: I will never put up with slackness... or dog racing[LNB] Explore more:People: Muhammad Ali, Paul Merson Places: Newcastle, United Kingdom Organisations: Football League
