Michael Standing and Arthur Gnohere signed on yesterday as Oxford United completed their squad for the new season.

The two triallists had impressed in pre-season, and both players are now eligible for their Blue Square Premier campaign, which begins on Saturday when the U's host Forest Green Rovers.

Midfielder Standing joins on a non-contract basis, with French defender Gnohere signing a month-by-month deal.

Standing 26, started his career at Brighton and was very highly rated, playing for both England Schoolboys and England Youth, before being snapped up by Aston Villa as a teenager.

He moved to Bradford City on a free transfer in 2002, and after around 30 appearances for the Bantams, he joined Walsall three years ago, becoming their captain.

However, he was in limbo last season, with just brief spells at Chesterfield and Bournemouth, before being offered the chance to train with United this summer.

Ivory Coast-born defender Gnohere is a tough-tackling centre back who first came to Jim Smith's attention when he was at Portsmouth, on trial from French club Caen. He had previously been in the south of France at AS Cannes.

Gnohere had a successful spell at Burnley, becoming a cult figure at Turf Moor as a man-mountain of a player, fierce in the tackle and effective both in the air and on the ground.

He is a sight to behold when charging forward, his sheer enthusiasm communicating itself to the crowd, who christened him 'King Arthur' after his two goals helped the Clarets to a famous 3-2 win over local rivals Preston.

He joined QPR but suffered a bad knee injury, which meant a year out of the game. However, the 28-year-old is now fully fit and he has looked stronger with each game in pre-season.

Meanwhile, boss Smith says Yemi Odubade should be fit for Saturday's opening game, despite not featuring in Monday night's 1-0 win over Birmingham.

Last season's fans' favourite is recovering from an abdominal strain.

However, Joel Ledgister's excellent display when coming off the bench against the Blues now gives Smith another alternative for the team's striking speed mer- chant.

The manager says his front two pairing remains his most difficult decision.

"But whoever is left out will be on the bench and there are other games coming up thick and fast," he said.