MICHAEL Appleton saluted Oxford United’s supporters for the role they have played in the side’s promising start.

Fans organised a retro day for Saturday’s game against Yeovil Town and hundreds turned up in shirts, scarves and hats from previous campaigns to watch the 2-0 win.

It was the second stylish victory in a row at the Kassam Stadium, following the 3-1 success against Notts County.

United have struggled for consistency at home in recent seasons, but Appleton was quick to praise the buoyant atmosphere.

“I’m sure Oxford United fans have wanted to turn their home form into something they can be proud of for many a year, so hopefully it can be this season,” he said.

“On the first day against Crawley (a 1-1 draw) everyone was frustrated, but the fans were fantastic on that day and they’ve been great ever since.

“The Yellow Army behind the goal were going beserk when we got the goal and kept the momentum going.”

The U’s boss thought the opening 20 minutes, which included Danny Hylton opening the scoring, was as well as the side have played this season.

A first clean sheet was also very welcome, helping the club into Sky Bet League Two’s top five.

Appleton said: “We’re eight points better off than this time last year.

“We’re in a good place, we’ve hit our target after five games and it’s about moving on now very quickly.”

Appleton also revealed defender Sam Long was expected to be out for between ten and 12 weeks after scans showed an awkward fall against Sheffield Wednesday last week had damaged ankle ligaments.

He said: “It’s not the news we were hoping for but it’s certainly not as bad as it could have been.”

Yeovil boss Paul Sturrock expects United to be challenging for automatic promotion.

And the Scot joked he needed an extreme method to get improvements out of his side.

“You can see a well-organised unit there and I’m very confident they will be in the top three or four come the end of the season,” he said.

“Certain (Yeovil) players did not come to the show offensively.

“If I had a shotgun I might be able to scare a few of them.”