Peter Leven is delighted that the hard work he has put in on set pieces over his career is continuing to pay dividends.

The Scottish midfielder made his first start for Oxford United at Swindon on Sunday, and set-up both goals for James Constable in the 2-1 victory.

While he was slightly disappointed not to have contributed more in the game, Leven was overjoyed to have played his part in a famous win.

It was from his left-wing corner – United’s only one of the game – that Constable headed the U’s in front.

And then from a classy right-side free-kick, Oxford regained the lead just before half-time.

“I’m usually not bad at them (set-pieces),” he smiled. “I’ve worked on them since I was little and continue to do so – staying after training just working on set pieces and passing.

“I got 11 or 12 assists last season so from a personal point of view it was nice to get a couple on Sunday.

“You need people on the end of them though, and it was a great header from Beano for the first, and then we had a bit of fortune with the second, but you’ll take them all day long.”

Being a big Rangers fan, and having watched and played in derby matches against Celtic as a youngster, Leven knew how much Sunday meant to people around the club.

“Everyone knew it was a big game,” he said. “The win was the most important thing, but we all could have played better.

“Having said that, a win’s a win against your local rivals – especially when you haven’t won there for 38 years.

“Sometimes you have to win ugly – that’s what good sides do.”

The start of the season has been frustrating for the former MK Dons man, who was consigned to a place on the bench for the opening four matches after failing to recover in time from a foot injury he collected at his former side at the end of last season.

And he knows that while he is getting fitter, he will need more game time before he is 100 per cent.

“It was my first start for four months, and especially being a derby match it was tough,” he said.

“The last 15 or 20 minutes I felt a bit tired, but you’ve got to dig in deep then.

“I think you need five or six games of 90 minutes under your belt to really get into your rhythm.

“From a personal point of view on Sunday I wanted to get on the ball more, but we got the win which was the main thing.

“As long as we keep firing now, we can really kick on after Christmas and we’ll have a good chance.”