in no hurry NEW manager Ramon Diaz says he is in no hurry to change things at Oxford United.

The 45-year-old Argentine said he first wants to get to know his players better, before making any significant alterations.

"I'd like to do at Oxford what I did at River Plate," he said in an interview in THE TIMES. "There I discovered lots of very talented young players such as Javier Saviola, Fernando Cavenagi and Javier Mascherano. I hope we can do the same job here.

"We did a lot of good work with River Plate. But the situation here is obviously very different.

"I had young squads there, but always backed up with a few hugely experienced players such as Marcelo Gallardo, Enzo Francescoli, Matias Almeyda and Marcelo Salas.

"I think we can mix both English and Argentine styles, but first I need to get to know my players better," he said. "To tell the truth, I think for the moment it's best not to change too much.

"I'd prefer to adapt myself to what the players are used to than expect the entire squad to adapt to my way overnight. Later on, we can start to mix the Argentine way of playing with the English way."

"The first part of the job is to evaluate what we've got here, both collectively and individually. Then we will decide the best way to continue."

Diaz, who won Argentina's domestic title five times at River Plate, returned to Oxford from Italy yesterday, collected from the airport by translator Giuilliano Iacoppi.

A source at the club confirmed that there were no problems with having to get a work permit in England because of his Italian qualifications.

Diaz does not speak English but can call on two translators to help him.

Yet he feels the language barrier won't be a problem.

"I played in Japan and France without knowing the language and was successful in both countries," he said. "Football has only one language and we will not have any problem with that.

"I'd prefer to adapt myself to what the players are used to than expect the entire squad to adapt to my way overnight."