U's take on Bury with games running out
Oxford United welcome Bury to Grenoble Road on Tuesday night knowing that time is against them as they try and make a late charge for the play-offs. A draw at Northampton on Saturday left Michael Appleton’s side with a very tough looking task, as he told Yellow Player HD today:
“The games are running out for us but the lads are still focused and they understand the situation. The performance was good on Saturday and on a different day we could have walked away with a win; I thought some of our football in the second half was great and those performances give you a chance of winning games. If we keep a clean sheet on Tuesday I am convinced we can win it.
“Bury have a new manager and a freshness where people are playing for their futures. They have different personnel and a different style and formation so we have a very different proposition in front of us. Plus they have a couple of dangerous strikers, one of whom is in red hot form, but we are playing OK ourselves and are quietly confident.”
United have one or two aches and strains to take into consideration before selecting the team:
“Josh Ruffels just started cramping up a bit on Saturday” Michael said “He has come into the team without much football so that’s natural. So that was precautionary and we will look after him. Chris Maguire trained on Monday but is maybe 50/50. He wants to be involved and needs to play all the time. Chey Dunkley is the other slight doubt with a tight hamstring so we will be cautious with that as well.”
United have a big game at Wembley at the weekend but Michael will push that as far from his mind as possible as they look to get back to winning ways in the league.
“Even if it wasn’t Wembley, you would always have one eye on the next game if it’s Tuesday-Saturday. Wembley is fantastic as it’s a final, but I always go into every single game knowing that if someone doesn’t get through the game on the Tuesday I know what we have available for Saturday. So you are always thinking a little bit about the next game, but first and foremost you take care of the game in front of you. That’s what we will be doing on Tuesday night.”
See the full interview and hear the game LIVE in Yellow Player HD.