Dean Campbell knows a thing or two about winning promotion and more from his time at Kilmarnock last season - and he see plenty of similarities between them and Stevenage in this campaign.

The on-loan Aberdeen midfielder spent a few months at Rugby Park, making eight appearances as Killie won the Championship and promotion back to the SPL.

He was sent south in the summer and has been part of a renaissance at the Lamex that has Boro second in League Two heading into the Christmas period. 

"It does feel similar," he said. "I can see the similarities in both camps. 

"When you are up at the top of the league, it is the focus every day to be at your best. 

"We all want to be part of promotion-pushing teams and that pushes training to be as best as it can be. Everyone wants to be a part of that team. 

"But we need to keep the standards we’ve kept. We need to keep picking up points and putting in good performances which is getting promotion." 

A bright start in pre-season was slowed because of a niggling injury on the eve of the season, one which he admitted set him back, but after mostly getting starts in the cups, he has found a more settled place in the starting XI.

That culminated in a five-star show in the 5-0 win over Barrow but there is more to come, as he gets used to a different style of football.

He said: "The more football I play, the more I get used to the league, the better I’ll get. 

"It’s a different style to what I’m used to but it was a good performance from myself [against Barrow] and I just have to keep building on it, working harder to get better. 

"In League Two it is a lot quicker in terms of going back to front. 

"I’ve been used to a bit more of a possession-based style but since I’ve moved down here, we’ve been really successful at playing it forwards and getting the ball in the right areas. 

"It’s just been something I have had to learn, maybe finding that forward pass a bit quicker and calming it down when we need to.

"I feel I am at my best when I am in front of the back four and can try and knit play between defence and attack. 

"That is normally the position I've played so far in my career."

He credits a lot of his more recent success to manager Steve Evans, who has taken the 21-year-old and fellow Scot, under his wing.

"I’ve learnt a lot for him and he’s been good for me," said Campbell.

"He probably realises it is different for me, moving down to England from Scotland for the first time, so he has been making sure everything is OK for myself and my girlfriend who has moved down here as well, which has really helped me.

"He’s trusted me to play in games as well, which I have enjoyed, so hopefully I can keep repaying his faith and putting in good performances.

"But it’s a great bunch of guys in the dressing room too and it is matched by us doing really well in the league.

"It has been really beneficial for me coming here."

Next up for Boro is a trip to AFC Wimbledon, 12th in the league but undefeated in the last eight with five wins and three draws.

For Campbell it is a great chance to bounce back from the midweek loss in the Papa John's Trophy at Portsmouth.

He said: "Portsmouth was a bit of a setback and it wasn’t the result we were looking for [against Mansfield] on Saturday so it is a really important game. 

"We need the three points. There are a lot of teams below us that are performing well so we need to keep our standards high and keep picking up points so that we can work towards our goal of promotion. 

"We know Wimbledon have been really strong at home, especially of late, so we know we need to be right at it."