KYRAN Lofthouse has been backed to keep his feet on the ground after making a first team debut for Oxford United.

The winger came on for the final 24 minutes of the Leasing.com Trophy victory against Norwich City Under 21s on Tuesday.

He became the seventh U’s academy player to be handed a senior appearance under head coach Karl Robinson.

Lofthouse, who is from Oxford, appeared regularly in pre-season for the first team, but for the moment is with the under 23 squad.

Chris Allen, who coaches the group, was happy to see Lofthouse make his bow and expects the 18-year-old to continue working hard.

He said: “One swallow doesn’t make a summer.

“If a young player gets carried away with that then they’ll get a volley from me.

“You have to keep grounded and work hard, get 25 or 30 games under your belt before anything happens.”

He added: “They’re all good kids. We have this thing where we try to sign good boys.

“We want them to have talent first and foremost, but alongside that they have to be a good person, on and off the field.

“You don’t want them to be that soft that they carry it on to the pitch. There’s got to be a balance – good lads off the pitch but animals on it.

“We think we have it.”