Oxford United get the chance to test themselves against Premier League opposition once again when they travel to Newcastle United in the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday.
Karl Robinson’s side have been in great form in the first half of the season and will take close to 4,000 fans with them to St James’ Park with Karl reflecting on not just the long trip north but also the journey the whole club has been on
“When you look at the journey that the club has been on over the last decade it’s a stark contrast to the ten years before” he told iFollow. “I think Chris Wilder started it, Michael Appleton took it on and the people of Oxfordshire have stuck with their club through some difficult times and now I think they are buying into the way we want to play- supporters and players alike.
“It will be our biggest crowd since the 1980s and whatever the rest of the season has in store for us we have certainly ticked off a lot of boxes already. We have made headway in a shorter space of time than I probably expected; I thought it might take a little longer to get to where we are but there is always work to be done and we have had meetings over the last couple of days to make things happen.
“OK we might lose ground in the league because everyone else is playing and we’re not, but we can’t control that we can only control it when that game in hand comes around, but to sit here in the position we are in is a tremendous achievement from everybody and we just hope we can now focus on a great afternoon out for all of us.
“It is one of the best grounds in the country and we won’t change the way we play. That’s not naive or stupid. If you are building a club with a philosphy you have to test it against the best.
“Newcastle will find weaknesses in it which we can rectify going forward but if you have a style why change? If you do and you lose heavily then players will question why we have come away from what we believe in.
"We will certainly go there to play and we know the quality of the opposition is so high technically, tactically and physically, but we are looking forward to it and we feel we have a chance. I am sure the fans will be thinking that as well so let’s hope we do the club proud once again.”
See the full interview in iFollow right now.