Alex MacDonald believes Oxford United have made huge strides in the 12 months he has been at the club.

And the 25-year-old hopes the upward curve does not stop there, with promotion from Sky Bet League Two on the agenda.

MacDonald joined the U’s for an undisclosed fee from Burton Albion on transfer deadline day last January.

The winger left the eventual champions for a United side who were precariously placed in the bottom half of the table.


But MacDonald went onto play an integral role as the U’s steered themselves away from the relegation zone and put on an eight-game unbeaten run to finish the campaign.

Oxford have not looked back since, sitting third in the table, and MacDonald has been delighted with the progress the club has made.

When asked to reflect on his time at United, the winger said: “There have been vast improvements.

“From when I first came it was not a relegation fight, but we just needed to make sure we were certainly away from that.

“In the last 15 games we wanted to take as many points as we could and really bring that momentum into the season.

“The back end of last season has really helped us for this year and where we are at the minute.

“It has been a vast improvement over the 12 months and hopefully the next year to come will be another vast improvement on the previous 12.”

MacDonald signed a two-and-a-half year deal with United, leaving a club where he would have won promotion to Sky Bet League One.

But United’s league form this year, as well as their cup exploits – reaching the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup and the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – has justified his decision to move to the Kassam Stadium.

“It (the potential of the club) was something I was well aware of, I knew it was going to happen,” said MacDonald.

“We have had a lot of success and I would like to think I have played my part in that.

“I wanted to help Oxford get to where, not only me but, the chairman and the fans see the club going and progressing.

“The job is still not done for what we want to do this year. Hopefully over the next few months we will get over the line.”