MICHAEL Appleton is relishing the prospect of a sold out Kassam Stadium for the first time in his tenure as Oxford United prepare to host Swansea City on Sunday.

It looks set to be only the third 12,000-plus crowd in the ground’s 15-year history, following a League Cup tie against Aston Villa in 2002 and the final game of the 2005/06 campaign against Leyton Orient.

The United head coach’s first reaction after the draw last month was to call for supporters to pack out the ground.

With Swansea only taking up 1,500 tickets, they will be significantly outnumbered by the home side, much to Appleton’s delight.

He said: “It will work in our favour.

“It will give us that bit of an advantage that we are certainly going to need on the day.

“It will be a fantastic day for everyone.

“Even as recently as Boxing Day (a 3-0 win against Exeter City), the lads turn up for the big games and they produced a performance in the second half.”