LIAM Sercombe wants to be the man on the spot if Oxford United are awarded a penalty against Blackburn Rovers this weekend, despite seeing his effort saved on Saturday.

The midfielder admitted he was immensely relieved Ryan Fulton’s save did not prove costly, with United going on to beat Portsmouth 1-0 at Fratton Park.

It was the second time he had failed to convert from the spot, following on from the 5-1 win at Stevenage in October.

Penalties have been a weakness for the U’s, with Sercombe the fourth player to suffer a failure this season.

But the 25-year-old, who converted from 12 yards in the Emirates FA Cup third round win against Swansea City, is keen to have the responsibility if the U’s get another against Rovers in round four this Saturday.

He said: “I know I’ve missed two, Saturday and at Stevenage (a 5-1 win) but they haven’t cost us.”

“I’m not going to shy away from them and I’m confident I will score the next one.

“I don’t know how the manager will go about it.

“Players here have missed and then got taken off them, so in my head I’m wondering if I’m still on them.”

U’s boss Michael Appleton will make a decision this week, although given Sercombe’s confidence it may be time to stop rotating the taker.

He said: “I thought it was a decent penalty save.

“You can end up passing the baton round to everyone in the team and I think sometimes you have to stick with something.

“It’s something I haven’t made my mind up on yet.

“I’ll discuss it with Liam and the staff this week.

“But it wasn’t a strike of someone lacking confidence.”

Sercombe owed a debt of gratitude to debutant Jordan Bowery, who came off the bench to score the only goal of the game against Pompey.

And he was quick to make a beeline for the match-winner after the final whistle.

“I was very relieved,” he said.

“Fair play to Jordan for coming on and scoring the winner. It helped me out.

“I went to him straight away after the game and said thanks.

“If we hadn’t won the game, I would’ve had to go into the changing room and apologise for missing the penalty.”