Captain holds the key for the U's
Oxford United will wait on the fitness of skipper John Lundstram before naming the side to face Northampton on Saturday. Midfielder Lundstram took a knock in Tuesday’s enthralling game against Bolton and Head Coach Michael Appleton will wait until after training on Friday to see if Lundstram can play a part at Sixfields:
“Lunny has a dead leg but has a decent range of motion” Michael told Yellow Player HD today.” It may be that we will have to assess it on Friday and we won’t take any stupid risks but he is our captain and is playing very well at the moment and I want to keep him playing as much as possible.”
The U’s make the short trip to Northampton looking to get revenge for a last-gasp 1-0 defeat on Boxing Day:
“There is a rivalry, and I think it’s a healthy one” Michael said. “We came up together last year and I think over the three years I have been here there has always been a really competitive game between the sides. They have always been very close, and I am sure it will be no different on Saturday. I’d like to hope we can get the first goal, and if we do that then Northampton will have to come at us.”
The U’s look to bounce back after losing out to Bolton in midweek:
“The result was disappointing but I was delighted with the performance. Certain individuals will have been disappointed with the game but I think if we put in those sort of performances as a team over a period of time we will win plenty of matches. The team put a shift in, the stats back that up, and if we can just eradicate one or two of the errors that we have been making at the minute then I’m sure that will put itself right.
“Our aspiration remains to finish as high as we possibly can. I know people are hyping it up and getting excited about the play-offs but the reality is we are playing catch up and not in control of our own destiny; even if we win the last eight games. So it is about trying to pick up as many points as possible and see where that takes us.”
See the full interview including Michael’s thoughts on John Lundstram’s captaincy, in Yellow Player HD.