Midfielder Simon Clist says that occasions such as Sunday's Blue Square Promotion Final are the reason that he signed for the club.
The Witney-based player signed for the U's from Forest Green Rovers in March 2009 and played a pivotal role in the side's amazing run that saw them narrowly miss out on a Play-Off place, but with their place at Wembley now assured for Sunday Clist is hopeful that the club can fulfil the potential that he saw upon joining.
"When I first signed for Oxford I knew that it was a club that was going forward and that there was a good chance we could be successful," says Clist. "Playing for Oxford gives me a different type of ambition compared to being at Forest Green where their main goals were usually based around staying up. Promotion has been the aim here ever since I arrived and we're now potentially one game away from achieving that."
Since last summer the side have turned in a number of good performances in front of big crowds, particularly during the victory over Rushden & Diamonds in front of nearly 12,000 supporters just ten days ago.
"I think that whenever we've taken part in big games this season we've generally come through them with a lot of credit. We've picked up some good results in front of some big crowds over the last eight or nine months and hopefully that will bode well for us come Sunday. Obviously it will be a new experience for a few of us who have never played at Wembley in front of more than thirty thousand of our own supporters but we're all looking to grasp that opportunity."
Sunday will represent the first time that Clist has played under the now famous Wembley arch, though as somebody who has taken part in a previous Conference Play-Off campaign - experiencing automatic promotion into the Football League one year later - the midfielder boasts plenty of experience when it comes to getting out of the league.
"When I was at Barnet we got to the Semi-Finals of the Play-Offs before we won the league a year later, so I have had experience in them before. It's fresh ground but you have to treat it as a normal game. Obviously the build-up and the preparation feels different because it's a special occasion and you can feel just how big a game it is, but when it comes to the match itself we have to stay grounded and treat it in the same way that we do any other. We have to keep our minds solely on the task ahead and make sure that come the whistle we all do our jobs."
Speaking of which, Clist has garnered a reputation as somebody who has a habit of scoring important goals for the club, particularly away from home. Is he hopeful of continuing that trend come 5pm on Sunday?
"It'd be nice to get a goal wouldn't it? Even though it's on neutral ground it's technically an away stadium from our point of view which is where I seem to get more or less all of my goals, so maybe I've got a better chance of finding the net from that perspective.
"Myself aside everyone in the dressing room is desperate for the win, not just for themselves but for the club and the fans. It's been a long time since the club had any real success but we have the chance to put that right, and we're focussed on doing everything within our power to make sure that we can give everybody something to cheer about."
