Smith: I'll find a new hero

The 52-year-old identified the lack of a goalscorer as the main problem at the club, but assured the fans that he will have discovered one and given them somebody to idolise by the time he leaves the club.

Smith was unveiled as the club's new manager at a press conference yesterday morning, replacing Mickey Lewis who keeps his title of first-team coach but goes back to training the youth team.

Lewis's assistant, Les Taylor, will be the assistant coach, while Smith will take control but work without a contract.

The appointment of Smith by chairman Firoz Kassam follows an alarming dip in form which has seen United slide into the Division 2 relegation zone.

The side have not scored for 406 minutes and haven't won in the league since Boxing Day, but Smith says he will solve the problem.

"You only have to look at my track record to see that I have always produced goalscorers. I had Lee Hughes at West Brom, Paul Moody and Nigel Jemson here and, before that, Andy Cole and Marco Gabbiadini. "The way I set my teams up always produces goals and I can guarantee now, that by the time I'm finished here, I will have found the supporters a goalscorer and given them a new hero."

The appointment of an experienced head at the Manor will not have come as a major shock to United supporters who felt that Lewis sometimes needed somebody to turn to.

However, the return of Smith will doubtless surprise some fans who were hoping for somebody to bring new ideas to the club.

Smith revealed that everything has happened very quickly. He spoke Kassam on Tuesday night after the match with Preston and the deal was sorted out on Wednesday evening.

He spent Thursday morning talking with Lewis and Taylor who, he said, were very supportive.

"Mickey has been under tremendous pressure to turn the club around with very little help or experience," said Smith.

"I know Mickey has improved things and is well-like here by everybody."

Lewis's reign in charge of United, certainly saw him experience the highs and lows of management. He kicked off with a 3-2 win over Morecambe in the FA Cup and enjoyed arguably his all-time high the following week when a Matt Murphy winner sealed all three points in the local derby at Reading.

He was the player's choice to get the job on a permanent basis and led the team on an unbeaten run that saw them climb to 15th in the league and into the third round of the FA Cup.

But the wheels had fallen off and the team slid right back down the league into the relegation zone.

Lewis even admitted after Tuesday's 4-0 home defeat against Preston that he couldn't make any more excuses for his team and was at a loss to explain their form.

"At first, I was obviously disappointed when I heard the news," said an upbeat Lewis. "Everybody likes to be in charge.

"But Les and myself are 100 per centbehind Denis and are not going to sulk at all. It is not in our nature.

"We've both worked with Denis before and he is well-liked and respected. "If I had to choose anyone to replace me, it would have been Denis."

Lewis said that his three months in charge have given him the appetite for management and he had not put him off managing again in the future.

"In the last three months I have learned an awful lot.

"I think that our problems started in the matches against Burnley, Wigan and Forest, where we played really, really well but lost every game.

"Recently, the confidence has been affected by our failure to score goals but the future at the club is good.

"I'll still be involved with the first team on the training field, which is what I like.

"But I'd just like to thank the fans who have been absolutely brilliant since I've been in charge."

Kassam admitted that he had to do something about the position the club had got into.

"Things were getting desperate," he admitted.

"I couldn't face relegation, and had to do something about it. "I've been talking to Mickey after every game and we've both been saying that it was a one-off and bad luck, but it is obviously more than that by the run we're on. I had to make changes."

And Kassam was very upbeat after the future of the club in Smith's hands.

"Denis has got a great track record. He has good experience in the transfer market, lives locally and has got all the right ingredients."

Smith is indeed respected in transfer market as a good dealer.

A manager should be judged on the signings he has made, so Lewis should not be blamed completely for United's run as he has only brought in Nigel Jemson, who has looked impressive in his two games. "I've spoken to Denis," said Kassam. "I said to him 'you tell me what you want and we'll see what we can do as regards signings.'

"I'll be wheeling and dealing as soon as possible," said Smith. "I know it's going to be damned hard work, but I'm up for the challenge.

"I've already identified the areas Oxford need improving and the injury to Neil McGowan is a big problem for us. "We obviously need a goalscorer but the way I play my team means that we will have one.

"You just have to look at my signing of Enzo Maresco at West Brom. He came to the club on a free transfer and moved to Juventus for £4.3m earlier this week so I'm good in the transfer market.

"I know it's going to be damned hard work, but I'm up for the challenge."

"I've already picked my team for Saturday!" he joked.

Time will tell whether Denis is the right man for the job, but if he keeps Oxford in Divsion 2 this season, he surely is.

Story date: Friday 04 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.