Steve Evans revealed that talks over a new deal gathered more speed after other clubs came sniffing for his services.

The 61-year-old signed a new contract with League One Stevenage, keeping him at the Lamex until June 2026.

But, as with any manager, success attracts attention and the club were approached by several other clubs, although all were swiftly batted away.

Evans said: "Myself and the chairman have been chatting for a little while and the chats got a little more intensive when the chairman received two or three approaches to take me away from the football club. 

"Those conversations continued and it just seemed a really good fit, hand in glove, call it what you like. 

"But the chairman had conversations with different people and when he or Leon Hunter got those phone calls, one of the first people he spoke to was myself. 

"I've always been kept in the picture but none of those projects ever got to the to the point that I was really inside those clubs talking to them. 

"I did have conversations on the outside, just out of respect reasons to say my chairman has made me aware but it's not something I want to pursue. 

"Phil Wallace is one of those men where if you don’t want to be at his football club, you're not going to be at his football club. 

"But for me, at this time of my career, going to the Scottish Premier League was not something that I wanted to pursue and leaving this football club to go to League One or the Championship wasn’t what I wanted to pursue at that time. 

"What I did want to pursue was getting on the grass here with the boys every day and trying to achieve what many still think is impossible, and probably more so after the last week, and that is trying to put Stevenage in the top group in League One. 

"That’s an almighty challenge but one, even after the last week and as the chairman said to me just last night, one we are even more keen to do." 

The extended deal will give him and the club plenty time to achieve their long-term goals, something the chairman alluded to in the club statement when he said the deal "allows us to have a recruitment policy that provides for both success and sustainability for years to come".

Evans expanded on that.

He said: "It goes across all of his businesses. He has multiple businesses and multiple companies and his standards are very high.

"He values people, he wants to bring people in for the longer term and he wants to build projects and make those projects successful. 

"There's always hiccups but from my point of view, when I first came into the club, the short-term plan was to keep us in the Football League. 

"I think I surprised him that summer when I said let’s get Stevenage into League One and then last summer, we said let’s have a little bit of a go trying to get Stevenage into the Championship. 

"And when I helped the chairman up off the floor, what we had was a brilliant supportive chairman and that’s what we’ve always had. 

"When there's been a Maidstone or a game like the other night that you shouldn’t be losing, he is always on the phone and is always supportive. 

"You need that support when things are not right, not when you’ve just won 3-0.

"We really enjoy each other's challenge every day and believe me, if you work for Phil Wallace, it’s never easy and its a challenge. 

"But it's rewarding in the sense that when you do a good job, you'll never fail to be told, and when it's not happening so well, like this last week, you’ll never fail to be told. 

"There's a real commonality though in that we both want the club to be successful. 

"It just seemed appropriate from my point of view and the chairman was keen to do it."

And, as with any other job, that sense of reward and sense of being wanted and ultimately being happy is what keeps the boss going.

Evans said: "I've been really happy from the minute I walked in. 

"People thought I'd come here years ago because of the locality and because I used to come and watch the club a lot. 

"There was always a real unity and karma when I walked in and a group of players that deserved to be winning games . 

"It's just continued from that.  

"People were waiting an hour and a half before I left the stadium on Tuesday just to say it wasn't our night but thank you and we’ll see you at Derby. 

"You feel valued and I'll never forget what it costs for those supporters to travel up and down the country, even coming to the Lamex. 

"So as a minimum, they need a management team and staff and players that re going to fight for them. 

"I've loved every minute here and intend to be here for a little bit longer, with the chairman and the board's blessing. 

"And we've got lots to achieve here and we're very positive about this season but if it's not this season, then it'll be next. 

"Certainly, while I’m at this football club, we’ll never be the lapdogs in League Two again, those days are finished. 

"I can't speak about when I've gone but the board and the chairman are wise enough to make sure that the standards we’ve got now will only increase."