AFTER waiting more than two years between games, Dwight Tiendalli is keen to crack on and give Oxford United boss Pep Clotet a selection headache.

The full back made his long-awaited U’s debut in midweek, coming through 90 minutes unscathed in a 6-2 win at Stevenage.

It was his first competitive game since May 2015 – a yawning chasm in the Dutchman’s career due to knee and thigh injuries.

The Checkatrade Trophy gave United a chance to rotate their side and give Tiendalli a game.

And while the 31-year-old knows Clotet may well revert to the side which has been playing in Sky Bet League One for tomorrow’s trip to Milton Keynes Dons, he hopes to have shown he is ready for action.

He said: “I’m alright, it’s not like the first 30 minutes (playing in pre-season).

“I think after that I was absolutely gone, but now I feel much better.

“I knew I was going to play and in my head I wanted to play 90 minutes.

“It’s now about looking forward and training hard to get more energy out of the games.

“It’s down to the gaffer.

“I don’t think he will make many changes because we have started very well.

“It’s down to the lads who are not starting to let the gaffer see we are knocking on the door.”

If he can recapture the form he showed before the injuries, Tiendalli should have the quality to improve United.

The defender has been capped at senior level by the Netherlands, while he has won the Dutch league title with FC Twente and played in the Premier League with Swansea City.

Passing on that elite experience was one of the main reasons Clotet moved to bring him in this summer.

Tiendalli has been impressed by the quality of United’s youngsters and is happy to pass on advice, but only if they are required.

He said: “We have a lot of talented young players here.

“You can see if our heads are right we can play outstanding football.

“I’m not a player who would be like ‘I’ve played in the big leagues, so this is going to happen’.

“But of course I will try to help them understand what the game is like.”