The Reds are at Old Trafford in the League Cup third round on Tuesday and despite steep ticket prices, they will have a big following, with around 6,000 tickets sold already.
But Stevenage away is one of the big tests of third-tier football, even if they have not got out of blocks as quickly as Barnsley this season.
Alex Revell’s side have taken a point a game from their first four, compared to two from Barnsley, who have played five matches.
Anyone who is not focused on Broadhall Way is in for a shock, according to Clarke.
“I won’t tolerate any other way, to be honest, and I’ve programmed my players’ mindsets just to focus on the next game,” he said. “Tuesday’s game takes care of itself when it comes along so players shouldn’t have any thoughts on it. If not, they won’t be selected.
“Stevenage have had four games so when you talk about bad starts, what do you class as a start? There’s a lot of football to be played and teams are just finding their connections and cohesion.
“Stevenage on paper have got a very good squad, as have a lot of teams in this division and they’ll get our fullest respect.
“They strengthened a lot in the summer, they’ve been quite active in the market. Stevenage is always a tough place to go and play. They had a fantastic season last season but like any other team they’ve got their strengths and their weaknesses.
“It’ll be a tough game.
“They’ve got plenty of experience in there, they’ve strengthened their front line (signing Jake Young from Bradford City amongst others) and they have a way of playing where they get a lot of balls in the box, they’re good on transitions, good on counter-attacks so we have to be respectful of their strengths but we’re in a good run of form ourselves and we’ll be going there in a confident mood, hopefully.”
Adam Phillips came off with a tight hamstring against Bristol Rovers on Saturday but as usual, Clarke was keeping his cards close to his chest when it came to team news.
