ROSS Jenkins says Oxford City cannot rest on their laurels after a season of bumper crowds at Court Place Farm.

The Vanarama National League South club recorded a 75 per cent rise in their average home attendance compared to 2018/19, the previous full campaign with fans inside grounds.

City twice broke the record for the biggest league crowd at Court Place Farm as they finished fifth and reached the play-off semi-finals.

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A positive season on the pitch was supplemented by hard work off it, as the club continued to give back to the community through projects like the Velocity football education programme.

And head coach Jenkins knows the two go hand in hand as City aim to further boost their crowds next season.

He said: “This season really went through the roof in terms of what we normally see.

“The problem I have is trying to build a team that’s attractive on the pitch and keeps those fans.

“I believe what we’re doing behind the scenes and in the community means we try to get more fans through the gates.

“It’s important we do the business on the pitch and entertain the fans so they come again.

“You’ve got to give big credit to the support they’ve shown all year, because they’ve travelled to some away games that are a bit of a journey.

“That’s added to what we’ve been able to do on the pitch and gives us that feeling of support.

“Hopefully we can encourage them to come back next season.”

Oxford United were another factor in the increase, with City’s nine biggest home attendances coming when their neighbours were either playing away or not in action that day.

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Court Place Farm welcomed four-figure crowds to four games in 2021/22, first breaking their attendance record on Boxing Day when 1,208 supporters watched the 3-2 win over Slough Town.

That was beaten last month when 1,349 fans were present for the play-off eliminator victory over Eastbourne Borough.

There was a young crowd at Court Place Farm that night and Jenkins knows City cannot let them drift away.

He said: “The next generation is important, we can’t just focus on what we’ve got.

“We’ve got to focus on what we can get for next season and the next five or ten years – trying to get a lot more young bodies into the ground and come to support us.

“They might enjoy it, come back the next week and they might become Oxford City fans for life.

“Playing attractive football will do that, so if we can get things right on the pitch we can attract all types of people.

“It’s important we build our fanbase gradually over the next few years.”