Chris Wilder is looking for a reaction from his players as they take on Kettering Town tomorrow afternoon.
United were defeated at home in the league for only the second time this season on Tuesday night as two goals from former U's striker Steve Basham's double gave Hayes & Yeading a surprise 2-1 win, and the manager is the first to admit that the result is one that hurt him as much as anybody. Says Wilder:
"I've been looking forward to getting back to work as I hope we all have because I'm hurting. Wednesday was the longest day of my life and I'd imagine that it was for the players as well, and in a way I want it to be. They take pride in their performance and Tuesday night wasn't good enough. I don't play games; I tell it like it is and it wasn't good enough. We didn't compete, we didn't win headers and we didn't win tackles, and if you don't do that then you can't win a game.
"Tuesday night was not an Oxford United performance."
Both the coaching and playing staff were hard at work yesterday as they threw themselves into preparing for the visit of Lee Harper's play-off chasing Poppies side, with the manager in particular looking and sounding like a man ready to bounce back as ever.
"It's always a pick up. We're all down but if i'm going to motivate them then I've got to be right, and I am buzzing right now. I'm really buzzing and I can't wait for Saturday because I'm itching to get back to work. I've spent the past couple of days looking forward to training and looking forward to their reaction and I want people to respond. I want them to say, 'OK, let's write that off and go again on Saturday'. The people who are rubbing their hands together now are the same people who rubbed their hands together after we got beaten by Luton in the last two minutes, but after that game we won three on the bounce and that's what we have to do again. We've got to show everybody including ourselves that we mean business."
Kettering will provide the U's with stiff competition, particularly as the Poppies currently boast the toughest away record in the division. According to the gaffer, the challenge is one that his players should look to meet head on.
"We've said since the start of the season that if we're around the top come the last quarter of the season then we'll fancy our chances, but we'll only fancy our chances if we compete and go about our business in the right way. Kettering have got a great away record so they'll come here and fancy it and want to try and take advantage of us after Tuesday, but I've got to say that if I'm a player in our dressing room then I'm rubbing my hands together and saying, 'bring it on'.
See the full interview right now in Yellow Player.
