Powell vows to stay put, Cook grabs a late winner and Oxford United come out of the bottom four on a super Tuesday for the U's, writes Mark Edwards.

Paul Powell has said that he will only leave Oxford United to join a Premiership side.

The left back's name has been linked with a number of clubs, but, speaking after Oxford's dramatic 2-1 win at Bury last night, Powell said that he would only think about leaving United for a top-flight side.

Powell was the subject of a £300,000 bid from West Brom last week and has reportedly caught the eye of scouts from Newcastle and West Ham who have been monitoring him closely.

"I'm happy at the moment, but if I get a chance to play in the Premier League - everybody's got ambitions to play in the Premier League haven't they?" he said.

"But at the moment, everything is pure speculation and nothing has been said.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm playing at Oxford United and I'll just get on with my football. I love it here, it's my home-town club." With transfer deadline day tomorrow, United boss Denis Smith reassured fans that Powell would not be leaving, saying: "I don't expect any of my players to be going before the end of the season."

Powell has been in sparkling form recently and produced another solid performance at Gigg Lane where a late Jamie Cook goal gave United a crucial three points to move them out of the relegation zone.

Cook struck in injury time after Derek Lilley's eighth-minute opener had been cancelled out by a Nick Daws header one minute from time.

But United's failure to convert chances and sew up the match concerned Smith.

"In the end, Jamie's taken his chance very well and I'm delighted for the lad. But we've had enough chances tonight to win the match earlier. We wasted some unbelievable chances - Matt Murphy should have had a hat-trick.

"At 1-0, I couldn't see them scoring, but when they went 1-1, the chair by the dug-out went flying and I was expecting us to throw two points away." Smith's decision to start with Steve Anthrobus and Cook in place of Nigel Jemson and Christian Edwards proved a masterstroke, with the duo turning in impressive performances.

"I'm not particulary popular with a couple of people. Christian hasn't spoken to me today and Nigel isn't happy, but I've got to make decisions and pick a team which I think would win.

"I thought Steve Anthrobus did tremendously well at both ends of the field. His work-rate was immense and he brought people into the game and did everything but score a goal."

Cook admitted that he felt he had to score a goal to make up for his earlier miss, when he ballooned the ball over the bar from six yards with just the keeper to beat. "Yes, I had a brilliant chance earlier and nine times out of ten I would have scored. But I think I made up for it in the end.

"We wanted six points out of the games against Bury and Cambridge and although we've won, we're only half-way there."

Lilley scored for Bury at the Manor last season to virtually send Oxford down when on loan at Gigg Lane, but he was delighted with his evening's work against his former side.

"It's ironic that the only goal I scored for Bury was against Oxford and now I've scored that one.

"When they got the goal, it typified the spirit we have shown in the last few weeks to come back and get the winner," he added.

Story date: Wednesday 22 March

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