Oxford United boss delighted with winning start (From Oxford Mail)

Oxford United boss delighted with winning start

9:40am Monday 20th August 2012 in Oxford Utd By David Pritchard, Chief Sports Reporter covering Oxford United. Follow us on twitter: @oxfordmailoufc. Call me on 01865 425458

CHRIS Wilder was determined to remain level-headed after Oxford United made an excellent start to their npower League Two campaign on Saturday.

Fantastic finishes from Jake Forster-Caskey and Alfie Potter, coupled with a strong defensive display, earned the U’s a 2-0 win away to much-fancied Bristol Rovers.

It rounded off an excellent opening week of the season, which began with United knocking League One side Bournemouth out of the Capital One Cup last Tuesday.

A further boost came before kick-off, with Rovers chairman Nick Higgs confirming the club had ended their pursuit of James Constable after United rejected a third bid on Friday.

Wilder declined to comment on the news, preferring to concentrate on a pleasing performance, although he was keen to keep everyone’s feet on the ground.

The U’s boss said: “I’m not going to get carried away because this is the first week of the season and I’ve got another 37 or 38 weeks to go. “I’m a humble person so I’m not jumping through hoops, but I’m delighted for everyone concerned.

“We’re one of a number of clubs looking to go well and all we’ve done is have a good first week. “The players know I’m not going to jump around and shout what we’re going to do.

“We’ll move on to Southend (tomorrow) because that’ll be a tough game.”

Wilder was particularly pleased with the way the visitors’ defence did not wilt under pressure in the second half.

The U’s battled until the final whistle, despite playing extra time in midweek.

He said: “You could say we could have passed it a bit more in the second half and be better on the counter, but after playing 120 minutes on Tuesday – I played it down quite a lot – that was a fantastic effort. “To go again for another 95 minutes in the sun is a great effort.

“The two centre halves were fantastic, the front two are a handful and I’ve always liked Matt Harrold. “I enquired about him when he was at Shrewsbury and that was a tough one for Jake (Wright) and Raynesy (Michael Raynes), but they came through it.”

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