U's get ready to face the Magpies
Oxford United go into Tuesday night’s home game against Notts County looking to carry on the momentum after an encouraging first week of the season. A home draw against Crawley was followed by a win at Brentford in the Capital One Cup and then a dramatic 2-2 draw at Luton on Saturday to leave Head Coach Michael Appleton relatively happy with his unbeaten side as they prepare to face the Magpies at the Kassam Stadium.
“We are always looking to improve and we work on a lot of things during the week, win lose or draw on the Saturday” he told Yellow Player today. “After Luton I was delighted with the way we came back but we just want to remind the players that we didn’t have to get in that situation in the first place if we just tightened up on one or two things. I think the analysis is very important at this stage of the season, just to sit down and pick out one or two things we can do better.
“You can dress it up as much as you want but the fast start at Brentford saw us 3-0 up in eleven minutes. That’s a fact and the players are aware of the need to start strongly every game. I thought Luton came at us very quickly on Saturday for ten minutes but after that we dealt with things pretty well and I thought we dominated long periods. That was a bit frustrating because we know we can dominate like that, we just have to make sure we get that first goal and get on the front foot.”
Michael scouted opponents Notts County at the weekend and knows that his side face a tough test:
“I went and watched them on Friday night and I’m sure they were disappointed with the result against Mansfield, but it came on the back of a fantastic away win at Stevenage and we are aware that they have some good qualities.”
The U’s have been unchanged for the first three games of the season and with no fresh injuries there may well be a familiar looking teamsheet on Tuesday.
“There are no knocks but I am certainly aware that the games are coming thick and fast and at some stage we may well have to take someone out of the firing line, but I can’t fault the effort that any of the players have given me in every game so far. There are players pushing for places but we will wait and see if it’s the right time to make changes on Tuesday night.”
See the full interview in Yellow Player
Join us for the game on Tuesday night. Call 01865 337533 or click on www.oufctickets.co.uk to book your place.