UNDER their new manager Malcolm Shotton, Oxford United are now one of the form teams in Division 1.

Since he took charge they have won five, drawn two and lost two of their nine matches.

And the past six league games show a return of 11 points, bettered only by league leaders Middlesbrough and resurgent Portsmouth and Bury.

And for United fans, these are great times.

That's because the sides showing the poorest form in the first division are West Brom - for whom there's now a measure of contempt after Denis Smith walked out on Oxford to become Albion manager - Swindon Town and Reading.

Yet in the past United have had a habit of doing well against the bigger clubs and shooting themselves in the foot against teams near the bottom that they are expected to beat.

So they will need to be on their guard in the two home games against bottom club Stoke and 22nd-placed Reading whose position and slump is such that they will be fighting for their lives.

Shotton warned his players: "These will be harder games than you've had just recently." Stoke, tomorrow's visitors to the Manor, have not won in ten games since Chris Kamara took over as manager, while Reading, who arrive for an all-ticket local derby on Tuesday, have lost their last three.

While the 3-1 victory at then leaders Nottingham Forest will always remain as the best win of the season, beating Manchester City 2-0 in front of nearly 30,000 fans at Maine Road with such a young side comes a close second.

"For the lads to give that performance, in a system which they weren't used to playing, was fantastic, especially after the blow of losing Stuart Massey so early on," said Shotton.

It's been a remarkable seven weeks for Shotton and even he admits being a bit surprised.

"A lot of success has come very quickly," he admitted. "But I've enjoyed it more than I thought I would and found the actual job of management easier than I thought.

"The working relationship I have with Keith Cox and Maurice Evans has been excellent and the players have responded to everything I have asked."

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