Chris Wilder's notes from today's matchday magazine
One month into the season and we have made a very promising start. Ten points from the first four games is a good return and we will look to stay unbeaten as we welcome Rochdale to the Kassam Stadium this afternoon.
Last Saturday saw us pick up one point against a Wycombe side which I think will do pretty well this season. They defended strongly, were decent on the break and it made it a hard afternoon for us. Wycombe came here knowing that they would have to raise their game to get a result and they started strongly but having conceded a goal before half-time we started the second half in a more positive fashion and when Danny Rose equalised I thought we would go on and win the game. Unfortunately we conceded a soft penalty which seemed to knock the wind out of our sails while giving Wycombe something to hold on to.
You have to give credit to the team for sticking at it and forcing chances. Their keeper made one or two good saves and then Johnny Mullins got us a point with that equaliser in injury-time. There were a few eyebrows raised about those seven minutes added on but I thought they were correct after several long delays. If you score a late equaliser in that way it feels like a winner sometimes and I am sure our fans went home happier than the Wycombe supporters.
It has been good to see the whole team chipping in with goals so far. That is something we feel is important to have and Danny and Johnny have got the goals in successive home games now. It was good to have Dave Kitson back on the pitch in that game and I am sure he will be involved again today. He is a very good player and almost created a goal out of nothing a couple of times; I don’t think we will have to wait too long for him to get off the mark. When you consider that neither Dave, Sean Rigg nor Deane Smalley started the game we were without three of the front four who kicked offthe season. That gave opportunities to others and Beano did well after a week he will never forget. Congratulations to him and to Laura on the birth of their daughter Aimee. I am sure he will be looking to celebrate with a goal today and with Deane hopefully available again we have a number of goal threats available.
Although we are top of the table so far I think there is still more to come from us in terms of performances. Every team at this level makes changes over the summer and as a result the first month or so are all about finding your rhythm. The table currently shows that we have been the most consistent side but as we move from August into September it is important to keep that consistency going. It won’t be easy against a Rochdale side who will come and play good football but with your help and support let’s make it four wins from the first five games.
Chris Wilder