STEVENAGE manager Graham Westley believes his players have the hunger and desire to cause a major FA Cup upset tomorrow evening when the npower League Two side host Newcastle.

Westley led his side into the Football League last May and they face a Magpies side sitting 73 places above them in the league ladder in the televised clash at Broadhall Way.

Despite the gulf in class between the sides, Westley remains confident of pulling off a win over Alan Pardew’s Barclays Premier League men.

Like most lower-league sides, many of Westley’s squad began life as apprentices in the top flight and the former Farnborough boss is counting on the lure of a second chance pushing his minnows to victory.

He said: ‘‘The mentality my boys will have is that they can play against the top players.

‘‘They have done it before in their careers and they can do it again. Some of them started in the Premier League, made a handful of appearances and were released but you never lose hope of making it back.

‘‘That is a tough mentality to play against and it is up to Newcastle to come out on top.’’ The clash comes just three days after the Magpies’ Premier League meeting with West Ham and Westley is adamant that his side will want it more.

He said: ‘‘Hunger will play a big part in the game on Saturday, make no mistake.

‘‘If you put two greyhounds in a trap and feed one, nine times out of 10 it is not the better dog that wins but the hungry one and you can take that philosophy into a game like this.

‘‘We will be as hungry as possible.

‘‘My boys here are not earning £65,000 to £100,000 a week.

Far from it.

‘‘They would love to – just look into their eyes – and they are going on show at the weekend.

‘‘They will be up against internationals, lads who earn that sort of money, and will think that they can dominate them.

‘‘They will put their names on show and dominate the opposition.

They will outplay lads who earn tens of thousands a week.’’