Liam Manning, the head coach of Oxford United, says he expects Saturday’s match against Blackpool to be “extremely difficult”.
With a game remaining, the U’s are only one point behind leaders Portsmouth in League One. They have easily won their last five games, scoring 14 goals while only giving up two. Manning told BBC Radio Oxford, “The lads have done a great job and we have been able to adapt and find ways to win.” “We know exactly how we want to manage the games and exactly what we can do to win and gain points.
“We have done a good job so far and we are fully aware that this is a marathon – now it is about finding another way to win on Saturday.”
Oxford takes on a highly effective Blackpool team at Kassam Stadium.
Before the second international break, their opponents, who are ranked seventh in the league, destroyed a formidable Stevenage team 3-0. Since then, they have only lost once in their last five league games. “You have to remember they [Blackpool] were in the Championship last season,” Manning stated. They seem to have retained some of their guys and added new players without doing a drastic makeover. “Neil Critchley has done a great job of getting them back on track and they have some real strength in their side.”
If they avoid becoming sidetracked by the media attention, Manning thinks his team can maintain their incredible run. “For me the noise from outside is just noise,” he stated. “I show up and give it my all every day; being successful as a coach does not automatically translate into greatness, nor does failure indicate that you are a bad one. “Challenges arise when you begin to lose control when things are going well or when you begin to doubt yourself and pursue things when things are not going as planned. “We know Blackpool is going to be an extremely difficult game but we will stick to our gameplan and concentrate on us.”
