SAM Baldock says he has always kept a close eye on the club he grew up watching, thanks to his brothers’ links with Oxford United.

The Buckingham-born striker attended games at the Manor Ground as a child and pulled on a U’s shirt for the first time at Accrington Stanley on Tuesday, following his arrival last week.

Baldock’s younger brother George was a fan favourite during loan spells from 2015 to 2016, while older sibling James is club doctor.

The 32-year-old’s arrival maintains the family’s strong ties with United from childhood through to their professional lives and he revealed it has been easy to keep track of the club’s fortunes.

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“I knew the squad was very strong and I’ve been getting regular updates from my brother after every game,” Baldock said.

“It’s never really stopped, because George was here as well and I came to a few of George’s games.

“They’ve had some good players come through and George can’t speak highly enough of the place, he loved it here.

“He came to the Manor Ground – I think I could probably dig out his (Manor Club) membership card as well.”

James became club doctor in late 2020, while George made a big impression in a relatively short time.

The right back played 12 games on loan from MK Dons, then managed by United head coach Karl Robinson, in early 2015.

Now at Sheffield United, he returned at the start of the 2015/16 campaign and made a further 35 appearances to help set the U’s on their way to promotion from Sky Bet League Two.

George’s final U’s game was an Emirates FA Cup defeat to Blackburn Rovers on January 30, 2016, with Sam arriving almost exactly six years later following his exit from Derby County last month.

The former Bristol City and Brighton & Hove Albion striker signed last Friday and did not feature in Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 win over Portsmouth, but came off the bench with 23 minutes left of United’s 2-0 loss to Accrington.

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The defeat kept the U’s fifth in Sky Bet League One ahead of the visit of in-form Bolton Wanderers this weekend and the forward is confident they can maintain a promotion push.

He said: “Everything I’ve seen from the boys so far has been fantastic, they’re a really welcoming group of lads and really easy to get on with.

“The reaction at Portsmouth was fantastic so hopefully we can do it again, because the best teams have shown they can bounce back quickly and not dwell on a defeat.

“At this time it’s not necessarily about a strong squad, it’s about a strong mentality within the squad.

“We’ve got to bounce back quickly and put this right on Saturday.”