Oxford United showed their true colours last night with a 4-0 win over Cheltenham Town taking them a massive step towards League 1 safety.
It was a first win for Head Coach Liam Manning but as he told iFollow afterwards, the aim now has to be to finish the job in the remaining games at Forest Green on Saturday and then at home to Accrington Stanley the following Sunday.
“First and foremost I am delighted for the staff and players” he said. “I have seen the amount of work that has gone on in previous weeks and the disappointments when we haven’t always got what we deserved, whether that be because of decisions or because we have created chances, dominated games, and not got anything out of them. So I am delighted for everyone in that dressing room tonight because they have got what they deserved from a really strong performance.
“Personally, that first win was important but it should give us all a huge amount of confidence going into Saturday. That’s a game where we need to back this performance up again. Never take winning for granted; enjoy the feeling but also understand why we won. That was the big challenge from me to the players after, along with backing it up on Saturday.
“The job is not finished and we have to stay focussed for these next two games. We are in control of our own destiny now”
Sub Josh Murphy drew particular praise from the boss after playing a key role in the second half:
“I am delighted for Josh” Liam said. “He has taken some stick and I have had a number of chats with him. Part of the reason he wasn’t in the squad last week was to try and put some fire in his belly and get a reaction. You go into one of two modes as a reaction to that, either fight of flight and to be fair to him he had a really good impact when he came on at Barnsley and then tonight his impact was terrific.
“So the challenge for him is similar to that for all of them; to back that up, don’t just do it once, do it every week. He has given me a headache for the weekend now and I am really pleased about that.”
See the full interview in iFollow
There’s just one last home game left when the U’s welcome Accrington Stanley.
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