STEVENAGE manager Alex Revell blamed fatigue after a draining week as his side drew 0-0 with Southend United in a drab contest.

The Boro produced a famous win over Hull in the FA Cup last weekend, after extra time and penalties, and also drew with Walsall in midweek before their exertions appeared to catch up with them against Mark Molesley’s side.

And while the result moved Stevenage out of the League Two relegation zone on goal difference, Revell was nonetheless disappointed with his side’s inability to create goalscoring opportunities against their relegation rivals.

“I look at the stats and it was two teams who obviously knew where they were,” said Revell, who lined up as a striker for the Shrimpers during his own playing career.

“They didn’t want to miss, if that makes sense, and it was a bit tentative. We had one chance from a corner we should have scored from and the frustration for me is that we had opportunities in really good areas to go and do something, but for me it’s tired minds.

“You try and pick them up but it’s been a tough week in term of minutes. The players need to recover their legs and have a nice week of training before the next run of games.

“We’re in a good place as a group. We could have been disappointed after Walsall but we can have a good week now. It’s about getting the lads ready again and I think this was two teams who really just didn’t want to lose.”