OXFORD United are prepared for anything after their eventful start to the season, according to Sean Clare.

The squad could be forgiven for wondering what will happen next after their previous two Saturdays.

Having scrambled for cars to complete their journey to Accrington Stanley when their bus was immobilised a fortnight ago, last weekend’s clash did not happen following a positive Covid test in the Crewe Alexandra squad.

Clare admitted it had been an unusual couple of weeks, but the full back reckons it stands them in good stead.

He said: “It’s funny, someone messaged me after (the Crewe postponement) saying ‘who’s cursed, you or the team?’

“We don’t believe in curses, it’s just a bit of bad luck.

“I’m sure the Gillingham game will go ahead fine.

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“I think this season will be full of weird stuff like this that we’ve never come across before.

“There are so many things that can knock you off, the sicknesses as an example, or little mistakes.

“You need to have a hard outer shell to thrive in this environment.

“Football’s about dealing with setbacks, that’s what the best players and teams do.”

Priestfield will be familiar to Clare, who spent half a season on loan with Gillingham in 2017.

It was his first sustained spell of regular senior football.

“I had a good time at Gillingham and learned a lot there,” he said.

“I played in a range of positions and it will be good to go back.

“We had a few different managers at the time, but towards the end we really turned around the season.

“All the memories are good ones, but I’m going there to get a win, unfortunately for them. That’s the plan.”

Although the postponement last weekend added to an already crowded fixture list, the 24-year-old was able to make a positive out of it.

He is managing a slight hip problem, but the gap in matches – coupled with being left out of Tuesday’s team in the EFL Trophy – has allowed some extra time to recover.

Clare said: “I think coming into a tough pre-season after lockdown is probably what triggered it a little bit, but it’s definitely settling now.

“When you have a lot of games you don’t have a lot of time to really get into stuff and strengthen it.

“I’m feeling fit and healthy.”