Oxford United midfielder Peter Fear will warn his teammates about the danger of Andy Clarke when Peterborough visit the Manor Ground for Saturday's Division 2 curtain-raiser.

Clarke, who played alongside both Fear and Steve Anthrobus when they were all together at Wimbledon, struck 17 goals last season to finish as Peterborough's top scorer as Barry Fry's men clinched promotion through the play-offs.

And he will lead the Posh attack on Saturday in the absence of ex-Nottingham Forest striker Jason Lee (aka "Pineapple Head") who is still recovering from a dislocated knee-cap sustained in the play-off semi-final.

Fear said: "I'll be warning the lads about Andy, we've got to be careful. He may be 32-33 but he's lightning quick. I've played with him many times and he can make up 30 or 40 yards on players on a run.

"I've also seen him score goals out of absolutely nothing," Fear said.

However, United's central midfielder believes his team can enjoy a much better season than last year - if they get off to a reasonable start. We've got a few new players, so we need to work hard for the first month. Getting results will be more important than performances in the first few matches - and you gain confidence from results anyway.

"The players who have come in all look decent players, we've got left-footers, some who are quick, some good in the air, so it looks a good balance. And with Manny Omoyinmi up front, if things are not working out, you've always got the option of sticking it in behind them and exploiting his pace."

With so many new faces, Fear is not expecting the team to gel straight away, but that doesn't worry him.

"If we can scrape a 1-0 or 2-1 win on Saturday, I'll be happy. It might not be pretty, but it's not about performances.

"We've got five or six games before the end of August and we might get the odd point here, the odd points there and then it will come together."