Chris Wilder has been named Blue Square Premier manager of the month for March.

Wilder’s Oxford United side were unbeaten throughout the month, recording four wins and two draws – with just one of the games, the win against Grays, on home turf.

That included winning at Kettering, Rushden and Eastbourne, as well as drawing at Forest Green and at fellow play-off chasers Stevenage.

He will be presented with the award and a bottle of champagne before Saturday’s game against Histon at the Kassam Stadium.

Wilder, 41, who was apppointed U’s boss in December last year, said: “I am a team player and I’m delighted to win the award which goes hand in hand with the way results and performances have been going for us.

“First of all, I would like to thank all the staff. It’s been a big effort from all of us, from Mickey (Lewis) and Alan (Hodgkinson) to Jim (Smith).

“These awards come when a club is doing well and I want to keep that going.

“We’re certainly not stopping here because there’s a bigger picture and that is to be pushing to get out of this league.”

Wilder, who won the accolade several times when he was boss of Halifax Town, said the award was a special moment.

“I am very proud to receive my first award as Oxford’s manager. I was disappointed we didn’t win at Stevenage, because if we had had 11 players I felt wel From Back Page could have got the three points. But I was delighted with the attitude we showed when we went down to ten men.

He added: “It would be fantastic to get 6,000 for the Histon game. It’s great credit to the players and everybody at the club. The players have all lifted their performances.

“But it’s important we keep working hard and improving and make sure this becomes a regular thing.”

Meanwhile, tickets for United’s crunch game at home to Histon are going like hot cakes.

And if sales continue at the present rate, they could challenge the crowd of 6,488 that watched the Cambridge v Histon game on Boxing Day – the highest attendance at a Blue Square Premier game this season.

Ticket office supervisor Dawn Wyllie said they were expecting a crowd of between 5,500 and 6,000 to go through the turnstiles at the Kassam Stadium.