ROB Dickie says he had no problem biding his time before getting a chance at Oxford United.

The centre back was handed a long-awaited debut in Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat at Rotherham United by caretaker manager Derek Fazackerley.

It came more than a month since he signed from Reading for an undisclosed fee.

Dickie had watched five games in Sky Bet League One from the sidelines, during which the side conceded eight goals.

But while U’s supporters have been growing impatient to see the 21-year-old, the defender always felt it would take time.

“If you ask any footballer, no-one wants to sit on the bench,” he said.

“But I’ve always been talking with Faz and managed to stay patient. I just need to kick on.

“It is a long-term deal and I never expected to just come here and swan into the side.

“I knew I’d have to be patient and any chance that comes my way I want to take it.”

He added: “You can learn.

“Especially when you come to a new club you get an understanding of how the team plays being sat on the bench.”

Dickie comes into a defence which has been leaking goals, with only one clean sheet in the last dozen games.

With full backs Todd Kane and Ashley Smith-Brown joining on loan late in the transfer window, the unit need to build a rapport quickly.

Dickie said: “We’ve trained together a lot. I know we haven’t played a game together, but I didn’t think that was the problem (at Rotherham).

“We’ll keep working hard in training and try to make those relationships around the pitch as good as possible.

“Football’s a results business, so you always need them, but we’ll stay calm about it.”