OXFORD City captain Joe Oastler will remain at the club next season.

The experienced centre back has signed a contract for 2020/21 as manager David Oldfield prepares for his first full campaign in Vanarama National League South.

And Oastler revealed that the City boss, who only took charge of one game before the season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic, made it an easy decision.

He said: “After speaking to the club and the manager, it was a no brainer to stay.

“We only trained once (under Oldfield), but he got his ideas across straight away and the lads rose to what he wanted.

“It was very hard work, but the tempo of training and matches went up and it was a big part of me wanting to stay.

“I like the way that he works, and I know that I will be able to learn from him, and other players will be able to learn from his experience.”

Oastler, who returns to Court Place Farm for a fourth season, has led by example since signing in summer 2017.

The defender missed just 20 minutes of action in his first campaign on the way to racking up 50 appearances.

He captained the club for the first time at the end of that season, lifting silverware as City beat Kidlington 5-3 in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup final.

Oastler has gone on to amass 133 appearances in total, all in the starting XI, and has scored seven times.

The 29-year-old is the fourth player from last season’s squad to sign a new deal, following the lead of Zac McEachran, Reece Fleet and Josh Ashby.

It comes after ex-Oxford United striker James Roberts returned for a third spell as Oldfield begins to piece together his squad for next season.

The City manager fully expects his skipper to help the club progress on and off the pitch over the next 12 months.

He said: “We are delighted that Joe has agreed to another year at Oxford City

“He has been a big influence at the club during his time here, and we feel he has a big part to play going forwards.

“Joe combines the character, attitude and ability that we need to progress the club onwards.”