Oxford United welcome Reading to the Kassam Stadium for the first time in the league on Saturday as rivalries are renewed with the Royals.
The corresponding game at Reading in December saw a sold out away end roaring the U’s on and that support is something that Des Buckingham has come to expect from the United fans, home and away.
“The noise and passion at their place didn’t surprise me because I have seen that from our fanbase over and over again.
“Even when we went to Carlisle we took over 500 and we have been taking thousands to away games like we did to Reading. We have spoken before about the need to give them something to cheer about and you saw against Portsmouth on Tuesday night the impact the crowd can have on players and helping us get results”.
United will wait on keeper Jamie Cumming and defender Fin Stevens after both were forced off during Tuesday’s draw with leaders Portsmouth.
“Both injuries were enforced and we will assess them and then make a decision on Friday” Des confirmed. “If Jamie doesn’t make it then Simon Eastwood has such experience and if needed we know he will do a good job. Billy Bodin, Will Goodwin and Josh Murphy are closer to a return than they have been and we know they should be back for Blackpool. The temptation is to put them in sooner than is planned but we still have a third of the season to play and all of those players will play a big role, not just in one game but all the way through to the end of the season.
“I know that everyone in the squad would love to be out there on Saturday. Players want to play in front of as many fans as possible and show how good they can be, and fans want to come and be entertained. If we can put those things together again then we know how well we bounce off one another. That’s something I’m really looking forward to being part of again on Saturday.”
See the full interview in iFollow along with the thoughts of Tyler Goodrham and new signing Owen Dale.
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