FORTUNES can change quickly in football and Freddie Grant has thanked Oxford City’s management for the hairdryer treatment he needed to grow up, writes KIEREN BUSHNELL.

The former Oxford United professional’s days at Court Place Farm appeared to be numbered earlier this season.

Poor displays were capped by two red cards in quick succession, which left him out in the cold.

But the 20-year-old credits a frank, clear-the-air meeting with manager Mark Jones and his assistant Joe Deeney for turning his season around to become part of their superb Emirates FA Cup run.

“My form and the red cards I got made me realise that I needed to mature quickly and adapt my game,” Grant said, ahead of tomorrow’s second round tie at Notts County.

“I worked hard with the management to win their trust back.

“Jonah and Joe really helped me to learn how to react to mistakes, how to stay calm and not to dive into unnecessary tackles.”

An injury to Christian Navarro gave Grant a chance and he has not looked back, making an outstanding last-ditch goalmouth clearance which helped secure a giant-killing 1-0 win at Colchester United in the first round.

“The management really backed me,” he said.

“After two red cards, they had every right to drop me and be angry with me.

“The most important thing to me was gaining their trust.

“I needed to prove they can trust me in big games such as Colchester and Notts County. I believe I’ve really matured.”

Meanwhile, Grant believes his team have slowly developed the self-belief which has led to the recent upturn in fortunes after a poor start to the season.

“Our form at the start wasn’t great,” he said.

“What happens in bad runs is players can go into their shells because results aren’t coming.

“But when it came to Colchester, it turned for us, because you saw a new spark of life in every player.

“If someone made a mistake, there was no negativity.

“We all backed each other, talked to each other and picked each other up. It was just a complete performance.”

Grant’s uncle, Martin Allen, was manager at Meadow Lane in 2011-12, and he says playing there will be very special for him.

“I used to go to Meadow Lane with my uncle and remember thinking how great it would be to play there,” he said.

“To think I will be there on Saturday is amazing.

“I know we are all going to be busy on Saturday, but if we can perform as we did at Colchester, I think we can match anyone.

“It’ll be important not to concede early. Getting to Colchester, at half-time at 0-0 was massive for us.

“We are all so proud that we made history in the last round. You are never going to lose that history.

“It was the first time we had beaten a league club, and to be part of that was very special.

“I just can’t wait to get out there and try and do something special again.”