WESTLEY SALUTES ‘TERRIFIC’ VETERAN ROOKIE WELLS

STEVENAGE boss Graham Westley believes 29-year-old Dean Wells has justified his gamble to offer the defender a path back to professional football after a decade in exile.

Wells, who was working as a school caretaker while playing last term for Braintree, had been plying his trade in non-league football after being released by Brentford in 2004 having made just a solitary first-team appearance.

The central defender, who was sentenced to one year in prison in 2011 after being caught up in an organised brawl between Brentford and Leyton Orient supporters, described his switch to Stevenage as “life-changing” upon signing in the summer.

Westley believes Wells has shown he is more than capable of holding his own in League Two.

He said: “Wells has had a terrific season so far. He has done so much learning. He is a player that has made mistakes but he has come back stronger,

“He has evolved into a player that will have a big career and a progressive career, even though he started late in the Football League.”