Oxford United head for Coventry on Saturday hoping a fine league win at Charlton can be followed up by progress in the Emirates FA Cup.
“The way we won at Charlton was the biggest thing for me” Head Coach Des Buckingham told iFollow.
“We all want the result, that goes without saying, but the way we played at Charlton and the manner in which we got that win pleased me most.
“The goal that won it was a wonderful strike but the first one was also a very well-taken team goal that started at the back, moved through midfield and ended up with a great ball from Fin Stevens and the finish from Mark Harris. He has worked so hard for that goal but it was a really good team performance as well.
“We have a few players out and I don’t want to go on about that again but on the morning of the game Jordan Thorniley had a back spasm and could barely move so we had to make a change, Oisin Smyth came in, and that worked out pretty well in the end. It’s funny how football works some times. Jordan is much better and could be involved on Saturday but we still have other players out and that makes life harder.
“We make no secret of the league being the priority and we will reset after these two cup games. We go into Saturday after two wins in three league games so we want to come back and start the second half of the season strongly.
“But the FA Cup is far from a distraction. It brings a magic and we will be taking 3,000 fans to Coventry, which is brilliant. It gives us another opportunity to keep working on the way we want to play, maybe a chance to look at one or two other ideas, but it’s about making sure we are as sharp as we can be on Saturday and then hopefully we welcome a few players back when we play in the league at Carlisle the following weekend.
“We will start as underdogs this weekend, playing against a team from the league above. They have picked up form and are on a good run so we know it will be a good test for us. But we will go there looking to put on a performance and hoping that it allows us to get a win and to go through to the next round.”
See the full interview in iFollow along with the thoughts of Mark Harris.