Now it's time for U's to build on turnaround IT'S been a good week for us at Oxford United with two clean sheets and four points out of six, and another big game comes at Bristol Rovers today.

The lads have put in two performances that Ted and myself know they can do. We know what they can achieve on the training field, they're outstanding with their one and two-touch play. We've just got to start taking the game to teams.

Against Southend, it was very positive. For 70-75 minutes we were very much on top, played some great football and deserved to win the game. We then maybe sat back a bit, but it was still good for the fans to see what they can do.

Then we went away to Kidderminster in midweek, and although I like Kidderminster as a football-playing side, for long periods of the game they couldn't hurt us.

Defensively, we were very strong and in the last 20-25 minutes we knew Kidderminster could not keep that pace up, so we just kept our shape, kept plugging away and we should have won the game.

Having Paul Moody in the team gives us an extra dimension. We know we've got to look after him. He's getting towards the end of his career, but he is a big target man who holds it up well and if you put balls in the box, he's going to get on the end of them.

In a lot of the times we've watched him, he's not had a good game but scored goals.

And that's all you ask of centre forwards really. We've got to start delivering better balls and more balls into the box, so he can feed off them.

At Kidderminster, he had a free-kick that was tipped over and late on, had Manny Omoyinmi missed that ball in from Sam Stockley, Moods was there at the back post ready just to tap it in.

We were unlucky, but Paul has given us a lift, just by his presence and because everyone knows he can score goals. Through his career he's scored one in two, and if he can keep that ratio going between now and the end of the season, we'll be delighted.

But no sooner have we brought Moody in, than we go and lose Andy Scott with a bad injury. That's disappointing because he had started to perform like a centre forward.

In the Southend game, he fed off Moody really well.

We know that if you've got two 6ft strikers, and one of them's quick as well, and is naturally left-sided, that's a massive bonus.

His injury is disappointing for us, because he was starting to do well, was getting chances and was creating opportunities for himself. He's probably out for six weeks or more which is a massive blow.

To be honest, we missed Andy the other night. Although Manny did well, and could have won the game for us on two occasions, the difference was that Andy was on top of his game, whereas Manny's still finding his feet because that was his first full start this season.

The vocal support at Kidderminster was tremendous. But then every time the team plays well and when everything is right, the support is fantastic, they're very loud and right behind the side.

Of course they are going to vent their frustrations if we don't do well, but the last two games we've given them something to sing and cheer about.

From my point of view, I've got to say a big thank-you to the fans, because backing like that really helps.

It really helps the players because it's a new side, a young side, and all the support they can get is going to be beneficial to us all. Why must we talk of strikes? THIS week there's been talk about a possible strike because the PFA are not getting the five per cent of the television money they were initially promised.

It doesn't surprise me because that's unions for you.

If they want to pull the players out, they'll advise them to do that.

I know that in my playing days, if it came down to a vote, and I was asked if I would support a walkout over money that's going to be given to the PFA, I personally would have said no.

To stop playing football over something like that seems ridiculous.

But the consensus is that everybody has to vote, and I would probably have been in the minority.

What is the money for? Where does it go back to? Back into grass roots football?

Well if so, that's ok. Or does it go into a big pot that the PFA has and nobody else sees? Well that would be wrong. The PFA have been good. They are always there to help players and advise them, and players I know that have needed operations have had them paid for, ten years after they've been out of the game.

So if they are using it for that sort of thing, that's good, but to get to a situation where players are talking about strikes just doesn't make sense to me. Agents poser WHENEVER you get involved in transfer dealings, it seems, there are agents involved. I suppose in this business, you have to deal with them, but I don't like it.

As a manager, you have to speak to them, you have to get on with them. It is a money-orientated world now.

Personally, I find it immoral the way they make money for doing nothing when the players can do it themselves. But it's a massive business and you have to deal with people.

A lot of agents are very nice, but when it comes down to it, and they are saying 'give us x amount of pounds if you want the deal to go ahead.'

But we've got to suffer that if we want to get ahead and move on.