KEEPING hold of key personnel in midfield will be crucial for Oxford City as they prepare for a historic campaign, the club’s director of football has said.

Last week, Hoops skipper Reece Fleet became the first payer to commit to next season after promotion in the Vanarama National League South play-off final.

Ross Jenkins’ side cruised past St Albans City, winning 4-0 in front of a record crowd of 3,100 at Court Place Farm.

The victory ensured the Hoops will be competing in the National League next season, the highest level the club has ever played at.

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City director of football Justin Merritt told this newspaper: “The challenge is being on a regular basis competing and going up against that level of club that we have done in the FA Cup runs, but we’ll be doing that week in, week out and that’s a big challenge.

“The players are more than ready for that but we’re also realistic on our position in the league pyramid.

“Objective number one is can we get enough points to get to safety and then push on?

“It’s such a league jump so if you could take staying up now, we’d take it.

“But it’s also one of those where we got promoted after being one of the best two or three teams in the league for a few years.

“We never want to stand still and we always want to push on.

“We’re ambitious as a club. I’ve been here since 2005 and seen four promotions in that time.

“We need to build our revenue streams and our fanbase, but we need to do it in a structured way.

“We’re looking at bringing in additional people behind the scenes to help with the funding and the growth.”

On the pitch, Merritt hopes fellow midfield stalwarts such as Josh Ashby, Lewis Coyle, Zac McEachran and Alfie Potter will follow Fleet in committing for the 2023/24 season.

He said: “Reece has been a credit to himself for many seasons and since we picked him back up from Solihull Moors, he’s grown and grown from there.

“He’s massively important and to make 350 games for one club in this era is so unusual.

“It’s very important that we keep hold of that core midfield group.

“They’ve got a synergy with each other, built over three or four years.

“They’re good players and lots of clubs are interested in in these types of players.”

READ AGAIN: Oxford City skipper first to commit to club next season after historic promotion

Discussing the rest of the playing squad, and the need to assess potential incomings and outgoings, Merritt said: “There’s a lot going on and we’ve got to look at our playing squad.

“It’s the same with any team, that players will come and go.

“We’re stepping into the unknown with some of these players at this level, so there’ll be a case of seeing where we are early on.

“We’re also trying to build a fanbase and a club – it’s about the juniors, the youth and the women’s game as well.

“How do we develop the fanbase and our revenue streams, and those strategies will be there no matter what division we’re in.

“Ross is working with his management team in trying to recruit players.

“There’ll be improvements to the stadium too, which will help the whole community and all the sides that use it.”