Steve Evans fancies Stevenage to win the League One play-offs after they've stopped Darren Ferguson's 'runaway train'

But he doesn’t expect to face his old club Peterborough United in post-regular season football. He’s tipping Darren Ferguson’s side to finish in the top two to win automatic promotion to the Championship.

Evans is fully committed to stopping a Posh team he described as a ‘runaway train’ when they clash at the Weston Homes Stadium on Wednesday (8pm), but he accepts his team of underdogs will need some luck on the night.

“We are facing a magician of a manager who has his team playing great football,” Evans told the PT. “I said after we drew 2-2 with them at our place that they would go up automatically and I still believe that now. They have some class players who are also hungry and full of desire so we know we will need to be at our best to get something on Wednesday.

"We will come up with a plan to stop them though. We know we will be up against it at times and we will need some luck, but I know I can win there with this team like I have in the past with Rotherham and Gillingham.

"We are not really competing with Peterborough for promotion. We have our own mini league with Oxford, Blackpool, Leyton Orient and Lincoln and we are top at the moment and confident of staying there. What we have achieved already is incredible. If the league was based on budgets we’d be in the bottom three rather than in the top six. At the start of the season no-one would have tipped us to be above any of those teams we are fighting against for a play-off place.

"But if we get in those play-offs I fancy we will win them. We will be the team no-one wants to play. We lost by one goal at Bolton and Barnsley and we were unlucky to lose both games. We still have them both to play at home.

"As I said I don’t think Peterborough will be in those play-offs and I hope they aren’t because I want them to go up, but we will be out to stop that runaway train on Wednesday.”

Evans will be watching the match at the Weston Homes Stadium from the stands as he completes a two-match touchline ban. He’s picked up seven yellow cards this season, one more than Ferguson.

He watched a disappointing 0-0 home draw with Fleetwood from the Lamex Stadium stands on Saturday.

"I often start games in the stands anyway,” Evans added. “You see an awful lot of managers up there these days!”

Stevenage are currently sixth, but could drop out of the play-off places on Tuesday if Oxford win at Bolton.