Oxford United look for one more memorable win this season when they head for Luton Town on Saturday.
A sold out Kenilworth Road will salute promoted Luton, but Head Coach Karl Robinson is looking for his own side to put in one final performance to send the fans into the summer smiling.
“It’s what you want to be involved in: big games and a chance to test yourself” he told iFollow today. “We tip our hats to Luton this season because to get promoted is difficult and we will show them respect when they walk out: they deserve that. But we want to put a show on for our fans too; it is a sell out in the away end and people talk about spoiling the party: it’s not about that, it’s about wanting to win for Oxford United.
“Luton have been brilliant and Mick Harford has been unbelievable and managed to motivate them all the way through. He has players who will flourish in the Championship, but we want to win and that is our main objective.”
That sold out away end shows once again the support that the U’s have had all season and Karl was quick to ask fans to back his team and buy their season tickets for what promises to be a hugely exciting 2019/20…
“It has been relentless this season" he said. "Our fans have travelled up and down the country and we thank them for that and we hope we can come back for a new season and make a much better start. I know they have been buying season tickets but I’m not sure if people know how massive that is for us as a football club.
“We are in a position where we don’t get the concession money, we only get revenue from bums on seats so we need as many fans as possible to buy their season tickets this summer.
“OK we have a duty of care to provide decent football to watch but I think our form has been pretty good at home.So come and get your season tickets and come and support us.
"We were 16th last season, we are currently in 12th. That is another step in the right direction and I think we have shown terrific resilience. Once our Training Ground was ready and once we had everyone fit; that was when we were under pressure because we had nothing to blame and we needed to perform. The players stood up to that brilliantly. I am very proud to be their Manager and very proud to be Manager of the club. I want to thank all the staff for their hard work and hopefully it comes across that we do love working here. We hope we can make this club as successful as it used to be.
“I spoke with Denis Smith and Malcolm Crosby on Saturday about how they won promotion in 1996. Their knowledge and calmness are incredible and I enjoyed asking them about the club, just like I enjoyed having James Constable and Joey Beauchamp here earlier in the season. We have history at this club that is ingrained in the supporters and I believe that if you want to move a club forward you have to understand what it stands for. I have learned a lot about myself this season, but also a lot about Oxford as a city and Oxford United as a football club.”
See the full interview plus the thoughts of Shaun Derry and a full Preview Show, all in iFollow right now.