Graham Rix wants to keep David Oldfield and Darren Patterson as his backroom staff and says he will be speaking to chairman Firoz Kassam soon to discuss new contracts for them.

"The backroom staff have been great and have supported me in every decision I've made," Rix said.

Oldfield, who is effectively assistant manager as well as taking United's reserves, is currently on a player-coach contract.

Rix added that there are plans to tackle some of the behind-the-scenes problems at the club.

"I'm heartened by the chairman coming out and saying there are problems, such as the scouting system and the training ground situation.

"Since I've been here, I've been listening to everybody and taking on board lots of things, so I've heard about some of the difficulties there are.

"But I've got a great relationship with the chairman and we speak very honestly and openly."

The U's face Cambridge United at the Kassam Stadium in their penultimate Division 3 home game today, with Rix - in his first match since his official appointment - having to juggle the side because of injuries.

"I'm desperate for us to get up," he said. "Despite the results we've had, I honestly feel that we have made certain progress.

"The fact that the chairman has said I'll be here for the next two years doesn't give me an excuse at all, but people now know I'm here for the duration."

Rix said he was pleased with his players' second-half response at Darlington last week where they came out after the interval with all guns blazing.

And the way the Darlington fans goaded United's players as their team kept the ball while they were 2-0 ahead riled him.

"When we were chasing the game and their fans were giving it the 'ole', that hurt me and must have hurt the guys. But the response I got from them was excellent," Rix added.

Despite his blunder for the opening goal at the Reynolds Arena, Andy Woodman keeps his place between the sticks, but there are a host of injury worries.

Rix's message to the team will be to be clinical in both penalty boxes, to finish chances - and concentrate fully in defence.

And with it being home game, he looks likely to return to 4-4-2.

"We need a cutting edge at both ends. We've had a succession of individual errors which have often been down to bad decisions.

"We need to score goals, it's as simple as that. Our goals record is rubbish.

"We have got a bit of pace in the side now, we get in good situations, but I just wonder whether we get enough bodies in the box. That's something we need to improve on."

Oxford Utd: (from) Woodman, Ashton, Crosby, McCarthy, Bound, Hackett, Whitehead, Wanless, Hunt, Basham, Walker, Omoyinmi, Rawle, Quinn, Waterman, Steele, McNiven, Pitt.

Cambridge Utd: (from) Marshall, Angus, Tann, Goodhind, Murray, Turner, Nicholls, Gutteridge, Walker, Tudor, Easter, Webb, Chillingworth, Ruddy, Robinson, Fleming, Bimson.