It was obviously a good win over Birmingham City the other night.
Yeah, pre-seasons been going really well. It was a great win over Birmingham and it’s good to get into that winning mentality early in the season. We also had a tour to America which went really well as we won two games and drew one.
Were the opposition in America any good?
Yeah, they were better than I thought they were going to be actually. They popped the ball around nicely and so it was definitely competitive.
What does your pre-season training actually comprise? The days of running endlessly round a field are long gone I take it?
Yes, pre-season is much more broken down into separate tests – such as endurance and sprinting. We have individual tests at the beginning of the season to see where everyone’s fitness levels are at and then we’ve done a lot of individual running. Those who are slightly fitter have gone into certain groups, while those who are not at the top end have gone into another group. Also, people’s strengths and weaknesses are identified early on so that those who need to work on their sprinting have had to do more sprinting, for instance.
What do you make of the new signings?
They look really good, yeah. Each one of the new signings has definitely brought something to the squad and they have acquitted themselves very well in pre-season.
Are you at all concerned about Andrew Whing taking your place at right-back?
Look, it’s football, I’ve had to deal with it all my career. I don’t see it as a problem – we needed another right-back anyway.
What are your impressions of Peter Leven – as the League 1 sports writers’ player of the year last year it looks like Oxford have pulled off a bit of a coup there?
He looks like a really good player, but to be honest, each one of the signings offers something different which is exactly what we needed.
Are you disappointed about the departure of any players in particular like Jack Midson or Sam Deering?
The gaffer’s made his decision and he’s done it for a reason, which is for the benefit of the team. He’s looking to progress the team and wants the team to do as well as it can.
And how well do you think it can do?
We have certain goals that we’re looking to fulfil and we’re looking to build on last year’s campaign and do the best we can.
