News round-up

I hate to say I told you so, but I did. Arthur Gnohere is no’ here no more. It’s not a surprise really, if there was ever a stopgap signing, he was it. We were awash with central defenders, but none had the presence of the injured duo of Willmott and Gilchrist. Gnohere offered a bit of beef where there was none.

It can be scant consolation to him to say he was hardly the first player to be castigated by the fans. He was not the answer to all our problems, but he did the job he had to do for the time he had to do it. Aside from his daft handball against Aldershot, he did OK. We are a tough audience.

Next into the furnace is Jordan Rhodes from Ipswich. There's no better fillip than a new striker. He’s got a goal habit, which is good and if he succeeds there’s a warm bosom of Oxford support waiting. He needs a good start.

If the Conference was a cycle race, the top five would be a break away group. We are in the peloton the big chasing pack - it stretches from Forest Green in sixth to York in 19th. Below that are the stragglers; the teams who beat us, but will struggle all season. The thing about the big pack is that any one of them could still bridge the gap and make a play-off charge. Our biggest enemy is us; we have demons. If we can chase them out of town, starting with a win tomorrow. We could still be contenders.