If a 3-0 win at Cheltenham Town and two goals for Elliott List was enough to lift the spirits in the Stevenage camp tenfold, this week's efforts at Bragbury End has sent morale into the stratosphere.

Boro have struggled to fill their full quota of substitutes at times this season as a niggles and knocks made for a lengthy injury list.

Manager Steve Evans though now has an almost full complement of players to choose from, starting with the visit of second placed Oxford United to the Lamex Stadium on Saturday.

The boss said: "We don't just have Elliot List back, this week we have Terence Vancooten back and we have Luther James-Wildin back and we have Aaron Pressley back.

"And they are all available for selection. All three of those lads played for 60 minutes in a game on Tuesday. 

"And they all came through exceptionally well and played very well, to be fair. 

"We are going into a period in October where we're back largely to Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday with a mixture of league games and EFL Trophy. 

"We knew we needed our squad to be stronger in terms of quality and numbers [for this spell], and I think Kane Smith is back in full training from Monday. 

"We’re touching wood that we’re almost getting to the stage of being able to leave one or two out of the 18 as opposed to struggling to make an 18 that you would genuinely use."

And while the boss knows that will bring other problems, he is more than happy to be facing it.

He said: "I'm going to have to start taking paracetamol to deal with the headache of picking a team on Saturday. 

"I'll tell you what we can't dismiss. We can't dismiss how good Nick Freeman's been in that wing back role. He's been stunning. 

"Can Terence Vancooten break into that back three? That's tough with Dan Sweeney, Nathan Thompson and Carl Piergianni. 

"Terence can play anywhere in that three or could we push him further forward and let him compete with young Finley and Louie and Ben Thompson, who was good at Cheltenham.  

"We've suddenly got options that we've not had. 

"Our transfer window didn't close few weeks ago. Our transfer window closed on Tuesday after they competed for 60 minutes."

Having a full squad to choose from brings the likelihood of a star-studded bench, something Evans holds in high regard.

The Boro boss said: "I've always said from the from the minute I stepped through the door, and I've always said it anywhere else I've been, as a manager, you look at the bench. 

"I'll get the Oxford team sheet and look at the bench. I know what his starting XI is going to be, bar the odd exception that Liam will make tactically or fitness wise. 

"But I’ll look at the bench and say what game changers are there? It's not substitutes anymore, it’s game changers. 

"In the early part of the season we were looking and we'd say we’ve got one or two game changers, but just one or two out of seven. 

"Now I'm going to look at the bench on Saturday and think they're all game changers.  

"Plus, I'm going to look up in the seats and I'll see two or three players up there that are probably hurting that they're not even on the bench. 

"That's where we need to be in League One, it's so competitive. 

"No one's had seven and eight injuries but we've just focused on the players we've got and we're focused on the players we've got available for Saturday. 

"And bar Harry Anderson and bar Kane Smith, we'll have everyone else available for selection if [Thursday and Friday’s] training goes as planned."