DEAN Parrett will be hoping to start a family feud when he lines up for Stevenage at the County Ground this evening.

Parrett’s fiance is Nikki Pritchard, sister of Swindon Town star Alex - who is uncle to the couple’s baby son, and the pair are close friends off the pitch.

On it, however, Parrett has openly admitted to wanting to “get into” those Town players he knows from his time at Spurs - notably Pritchard, Massimo Luongo, Nathan Byrne and Grant Hall.

“I know quite a few of them but I wouldn’t mind getting into a few of them, to be honest. They’ve got a lot of quality but we’ve got to stand up to it and get in their faces early doors and stamp our authority,” he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

“I’m quite friendly with one of the boys. They had the weekend off so they had their feet up but we’ve been working hard and I’m sure we can take it into Tuesday.”

Parrett, who is likely to start tonight, joined Stevenage following his release by Tottenham over the summer.

“I’m delighted to be back in football. I was out for three months and here, there and everywhere trying to get a club. I wasn’t fit enough to get into some places but the manager’s taken a chance on me and there’s a lot more I need to do,” he said.

“I need to get a consistent run of games and put in performances for my teammates and the manager.”

Though he wasn’t a part of the Boro squad which slipped to a 1-0 defeat in Wiltshire in League One earlier this term, the midfielder stressed Stevenage have unfinished business at the County Ground.

“There’s definitely some revenge there and it’s a cup game as well so it’s all to play for,” he said. “I think we’ve got the ability and the fight to go down there and get a result. I see no reason why we can’t go there and end up in the next round.”

Midfielder James Dunne remains absent with a groin tear while Darius Charles has been ruled out of action until the new year after undergoing ankle surgery.

  • “MISUNDERSTOOD” Dean Parrett could cause Swindon Town all sorts of problems this evening, according to Robins boss Mark Cooper.

Parrett, whose loan spell at Town last season was cut short after the midfielder failed to settle in Wiltshire, will line up for Stevenage at the County Ground tonight looking to put to bed bad memories of a nightmare stint in SN1.

Cooper - assistant manager to Kevin MacDonald during the 22-year-old’s brief stay in Swindon - feels the England Under 20 international’s character lets down his undoubtable talent, and he expects Parrett to pose a major threat to his side tonight.

“He’s got all the ability in the world, fantastic ability, but with Dean he had what some people perceived as being a carefree or ‘didn’t really care’ attitude,” Cooper told the Advertiser.

“I think he’s a little bit misunderstood at times but he sends that message across with his body language and at the time we were scrapping to get results and get in the play-offs and it didn’t work for him.

“Looking at him on Saturday, he looked as though he’d got rid of that body language and he played well.

“His ability has never been in doubt.

“He’s a big threat, a very big threat - obviously the Tottenham boys know all about him and his ability is not in question.

“Hopefully for him he’s got himself at a club where he can flourish and get himself where he should be.”