“I’M OXFORD till I die – and I nearly did”.

That was the cheery outlook long-time Oxford United fan Terry Priest put on events after suffering a heart attack as the final whistle blew at Wembley on Sunday.

The 70-year-old season ticket-holder watched Alfie Potter put the U’s 3-1 up against York in the 91st minute, but had to be treated by paramedics before the result could sink in.

He said: “I have been singing it for many years, ‘I’m Oxford till I die, I know I am, I’m sure I am, I’m Oxford till I die,’ and then I nearly did!”

Potter, who yesterday agreed a new deal with the club, said “get well” to the loyal U’s fan with a signed photograph.

Mr Priest, who is still being treated at the Central Middlesex Hospital, London, has been following the team since their days as Headington United in the 1950s. He said Sunday was the perfect day until his heart attack.

He had suffered 10 heart attacks before and underwent a bypass operation just six months after the Milk Cup final win in 1986.

He said: “We were so excited and we just wanted to see the presentations, but I never got that far.

“The paramedics took me into a treatment room and did an ECG (electrocardiogram) and found some damage, and rushed me hospital.”

Mr Priest, who lives in the shadow of the Kassam Stadium in Greater Leys, was at the game with his three generations of his family.

His son, Jason, said: “York went up for the 90th-minute corner and I turned and said, ‘That’s just typical’.

“Of course, we broke and scored, and we were all celebrating – Dad threw his arms in the air.

“For the couple of minutes of injury time I was just looking forward, then the final whistle blew and I turned and saw him clutching his chest – it was just too much for him.”

Potter, 21, who has joined permanently after a year on loan from Peterborough United, said “I really hope he’s doing all right now and wish him all the best.

“It just shows how much it means to everyone, and how much emotion there was when the goal went in.

“I thought we were cruising at 2-0 and we let them back into it, and it was a very nervy second half at times.

“So when that third goal went in, everybody knew promotion was guaranteed.

Despite the heart attack, Mr Priest could not contain his delight at the result.

He said: “I was ecstatic. This to me was far better than ’86. We had been in the Conference for four years and it was getting to be like quicksand, impossible to get out of.”

Having taken a personal call from club chairman Kelvin Thomas on Thursday, Mr Priest had an angiogram yesterday, after which he said he was “feeling great”. He hopes to return home this weekend.

Looking ahead to his team’s first season back in the Football League since 2006 he said: “It’s not an uphill struggle now, it’s a downhill slope and we’ve got momentum – but you never know with United!”