TOP scorer Tommy Mooney says Oxford United are becoming more like a Premiership side with their team of Argentinian coaches, writes Jon Murray.

"To have a fitness coach and a technical coach is something that Premiership and Championship sides have, but it is a bit unusual in the lower divisions and it's new to this particular club," he said.

"We've been working with the fitness coach first and then the technical coach. We're doing more stretching, and less running. It's different, everything's new, and there are different segments of training where we do different things with different people. Each of the coaches have their say.

"The warm-ups are shorter and sharper, and at a higher tempo. These things are taken for granted abroad, but not here."

Mooney, who scored his sixth goal of the season against Cambridge last Saturday, is an experienced and much-travelled player, who has played in all four divisions of English football.

But even he admits, this is something different.

"This is my 21st manager, or management team," he said. "You get changes happening at clubs, of course, but for a whole backroom staff and whole regime to come in like this, midway through the season, yes, that's new to me.

"But so far we've played one, won one, which isn't a bad record, is it?

"Having a fitness coach will benefit me, I'm sure. And there's more being spent on the preparation for games, like going away and staying in a hotel for a couple of days, as we've done this week, and being able to train on the pitch (at the Kassam Stadium) is great. That makes a difference."

Mooney explained how the players have taken to the shock appointment.

"When such a big group of men came in there was a certain amount of apprehension among the players and there were reservations. I can't say that after just a week the reservations aren't still there. It was a surprise to everyone bar Mr Kassam.

"But if we can keep winning and climb the table, the reservations will go.

"The language problems can be difficult, but with Giuilliano (Iacoppi), the interpreter, on site, you can get a feeling of what they're after. Several of the lads can make themselves understood and we can understand their broken English.

Jon Ashton sits out the second match of his two-game ban at Grimsby tonight. Chris Tardif, Paul Wanless and Mark E'Beyer are added to the squad which beat Cambridge 2-1.