NEW Banbury United boss Andy Whing is hoping his relationship with Oxford United will benefit both clubs next season.

The 35-year-old took over at the Puritans last month after Mike Ford’s departure and has since been putting plans in place for next season.

That is easier said than done given the uncertainty over when the 2020/21 campaign will begin.

But while he is hoping to retain as much of last term’s squad as possible, the impact of the coronavirus means playing budgets are expected to be lower at the vast majority of clubs.

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In that context, good links with bigger clubs could prove even more useful than normal to plug the gaps with talented youngsters on loan.

Whing spent four years with the U’s as a player and then started his coaching career with the club.

He has also known Dan Harris, head of United’s academy, for 20 years and is keen to build a productive partnership.

Whing said: “First and foremost, everyone that comes in has to be right for us.

“But because I have that relationship with Oxford and Dan, hopefully we can help each other out.

“There’s been a few players released recently who I know, hopefully they can come to pre-season with us.

“I think it will be even more important now, especially with the budgets in clubs those loans from EFL clubs will become more prevalent because you can’t afford to pay players what you did before.

“There’s a lot of fantastic people at Oxford and we have to build those relationships.”

The circumstances have made it difficult for Whing and assistant James Constable to really get their teeth into the role.

But there are plans to restart some sort of training next month and although Ravi Shamsi has joined Nuneaton Borough, the feedback from the majority of last season’s squad has been encouraging.

Whing said: “I wanted to keep as many as possible.

“I know Fordy had a decent group of players – they were only just outside the play-offs when the season ended.

“What’s really good is a lot have committed to stay.

“There’s challenges because budgets have been cut, but that will be the case for the majority.

“The right thing to do is what’s sustainable.”