UNITED'S next match, at home to West Bromwich Albion next Tuesday, will be a unique occasion.

It's officially Malcolm Shotton's first home game as manager, and it's former boss Denis Smith's first return to the Manor.

The atmosphere should be special and it's a fair bet that most United fans will be firmly behind the new man, who has been regarded as something of a Messiah in guiding United to back-to-back wins over Portsmouth and table-topping Nottingham Forest.

Malcolm Crosby, manager for just five matches in between Smith and Shotton, knows Smith better than anyone.

And he says: "I'd like to think that he would get a decent reception from the Oxford fans if only for what he did for this club over the past four to five years.

"You can understand the fans being right behind Malcolm Shotton which is only natural because he's now the manager."

Smith gained great respect from the supporters for his management skills and in some of his buys, such as Darren Purse, Phil Whitehead, Matt Elliott and Nigel Jemson, which proved excellent pieces of business.

But some fans resent the fact that he walked out on the club on Christmas Eve, even if they also understand that, as an ambitious person, he wanted to try for one more stab at the Premiership which he can better do at The Hawthorns than at Oxford. "He obviously knows all the Oxford players very well," Crosby said, "but he'll also know it's not going to be an easy game.

"He knows the Oxford players are real 100 per centers and they are good at home. And night matches always have a good atmosphere."

It won't be the first time Crosby, now Shotton's assistant, has plotted to try to put one over his good friend Smith.

"Denis was manager at Bristol City when I was caretaker manager at Sunderland and they got a draw there," he said. "Then the next season we played City again and they beat us at their place."

United midfielder Martin Gray probably spoke for many of the players when he said: "Denis was very good to a lot of us - but we'd still like to put one over him."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.