ONE thing you learn as a manager is to try to find out as much about the club as possible.

I don’t just mean the history – that part is easy – I mean the culture and the little things that make the club totally unique.

Within an hour of becoming Oxford United manager, somebody had marked my card that the rivalry with Swindon is as fierce as any in football and that Oxford have won seven in a row.

I look forward to being in charge for the next derby because they sound fantastic.

Today, we are playing at Wycombe Wanderers.

To the outsider that’s a derby.

It’s just half-an-hour by car, the away end sold out two weeks ago and there’s a great picture at our stadium of a player hanging on the crossbar at Wycombe celebrating a goal with the fans.

But it’s not a derby – I get that!

Whatever you label it, today’s game is an extremely important one for us.

We have had that rarity of a full week of training with no midweek game after Sunday’s defeat against Coventry.

That was such a frustrating afternoon.

I never felt we were in any danger but then their lad hits a shot that was more danger to the cars behind the fence than our keeper and it spins off a body and goes into the corner of the net.

Add in a penalty and we really aren’t getting the rub of the green right now.

I don’t go along with that old cliche of ‘these things even themselves out’.

I think that you make your own luck.

If we were on the front foot and all the play was in the opposition’s area, then those big moments all centre on attacking matters, not having to defend at home.

We need to make things happen for us, and this week has all been about simplifying things, making sure we have a game plan that we stick to, and trusting that we have the players to beat any side in this division.

I know that is true.

We just need to show it today and in some massive games coming up.

I AM always delighted to see a young player do well and when Gavin Whyte came on for Northern Ireland the other night,
I was absolutely made up for him.
Gav is a very good player and he has made a massive step up from playing part-time to regular football in Sky Bet League One.
He will tell you himself that he found the intensity hard and
has been exhausted physically.
That’s why we have had to be careful with his game time so far.
To see him score with his very first touch the other night was unbelievable.
It’s a moment that everyone associated with Oxford United should be very proud of.
He came in on Thursday and got a huge round of applause from everyone which was fully deserved.
I expect there are going to be plenty more ovations for him in the years to come.