U's get set for away leg with Wembley on the horizon
Oxford United find themselves just two games from Wembley as they head for Millwall in the first leg of the area final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy on Thursday night.
Michael Appleton’s side have had a fantastic week with an FA cup victory over Swansea on Sunday and the United boss is hoping to carry that into Thursday’s big game.
“We had a great week last week with the build up to the game and the way the match went itself, but the focus straight away has to go on to Thursday night” he told Yellow Player HD. “It’s a great opportunity for both clubs: Millwall are just as aware of that as we are. It’s a bonus that the first game is at Millwall because we will come back to the Kassam knowing exactly what we need to do.”
The U’s are in great form at the moment and have no fresh injuries, meaning that Michael must weigh up whether Sunday’s heroics have taken their toll on his players or not.
“It is weighing up where the players who have been playing, and playing so well, are at” he admitted. “We have a group of eight or nine players who have played the majority of the games this season and as long as they are fresh and feeling good then there’s no reason we can’t keep playing them, unless it gets to a situation where we risk people getting injured. We will monitor that closely.”
Playing higher league opposition seems to bring the best out of this current United team, and with the Yellow Army travelling in big numbers once again it should be a fantastic occasion.
“We are the underdogs, the only League 2 side left in the competition” Michael warned. “But the lads are feeling good about themselves at the minute and we have acquitted ourselves really well against teams from higher divisions over the last 18 months or so. We will go into the game full of confidence, but not reckless. We know there are two games so we have to make sure we do our job and make sure that when we come back for the home leg we are still in with a chance.”
See the full interview plus the thoughts of Ryan Taylor, only in Yellow Player HD