Midfield star Bobby Ford says he wants to stay at Oxford United, if the terms are right - and he believes he will be a better third division player next season.

Ford's agent has been in further talks with Oxford this week after the Bristol-born player was told by chairman Firoz Kassam last Friday that he would be offered a new deal on reduced terms.

Ford said: "I am keen to stay. My agent's speaking to Oxford and we'll have to see what happens."

The former Sheffield United player enjoyed an excellent first half to the season, and won the third division's player-of-the-month award for September but, like many others in the team, he had a more up-and-down time of it from January onwards when the U's were pushing for promotion.

The whole experience of modern-day third division football, where the ball is in the air a lot and midfielders get no time on the ball, must have been a culture shock for the talented playmaker.

But Ford insisted: "I enjoyed it. You enjoy it when you win, of course.

"For the team it was an improvement on the previous season.

"It was just that, when we were in the play-offs we expected to stay there. That was disappointing.

"For myself, it was a question of getting used to the third division. It was a bit of a shock and it was a learning experience for a lot of us."

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