Andy Burgess and Michael Corcoran make their first returns to the Kassam Stadium since they left the U's when they appear for Rushden in Oxford United's final Blue Square Premier home game tonight.

And Burgess looks likely to get a hostile reception from United's supporters.

Soon after he left Oxford, at the start of this season, he launched a stinging attack on his old club in his national newspaper column.

He blasted then manager Jim Smith, accusing him of demotivating Oxford's players, and claimed that "every single victory last season felt like a defeat".

Smith refused to be drawn into a war of words, while United chairman Nick Merry simply accused the left-sided midfielder of sour grapes.

And on the eve of tonight's match, Burgess further stoked the fire by claiming he "knows for a fact that the players at Rushden are better than those at Oxford"!

United have a score to settle anyway, because their 5-0 drubbing at Rushden, in what turned out to be Smith's last game in charge, was their heaviest defeat since they dropped into non-League, and was probably the low-point of the season.

Burgess said: "The Oxford home game, for obvious reasons, is my favourite home game of the season and one of the best Rushden & Diamonds games in the history of the club.

"They will, I can assure everybody, be looking to avenge the result and it's up to us to try to stop them doing that. I know for a fact that the squad of players we have here are a better group than they have at their disposal, so I'm sure we can do it, and for me personally, to finish above them would be very pleasing."

United manager Darren Patterson said: "Everyone's entitled to their opinion.

"It's obviously down to our players to show him that he's wrong."

He added: "I don't need to motivate my team for Rushden.

"We haven't done particularly well against them - they seem to be our bogey team - so the lads will be well and truly up for this game."

Diamonds, who were relegted from the Football League along with Oxford at the end of the 2005-6 season, are unbeaten in their last eight games against the U's, winning the last four encounters without conceding a goal.

But after United's three successive wins last week, they now only need to draw with Rushden this evening to guarantee finishing above them.

On the reunion with Burgess and Northern Ireland defender Corcoran, United's manager said: "It will be nice to see them, they're both good lads. It's always nice to see ex-Oxford players, and they're both terrific fellows. Hopefully, we won't be patting them on the back after the game.

"With Burge's quality on the ball, he should be playing a lot higher than in this league. But he isn't."

Burgess's good friend, Billy Turley, Barry Quinn and Craig McAllister will also be facing their old club.

Patterson is weighing up whether to rotate his strikers again, a policy that has worked well over the last fortnight.

Rushden have Danish keeper Mikkel Andersen on an emergency one-week loan from Reading.

Luke Foster returns from his two-game ban for the U's, while Michael Howard, who came off feeling dizzy and sick at Woking, returned to training yesterday and should be fit to play.

Oxford Utd: (from) Turley, Day, Quinn, Foster, Howard, Anaclet, Hand, Murray, Trainer, McAllister, Odubade, Green, Richards, Clarke, Fisher, Rose, Hutchinson, Benjamin.

Rushden: (from) Andersen, Corcoran, Hope, Osano, Woodhouse, Burgess, Howell, Gooding, Elkholti, Rankine, Challinor, Beecroft, Smith, Gulliver, Platt.

SUPPORTERS trust OxVox are tonight offering the first ten new adult members to join £5 off their membership.

Officials will be at the South Stand downstairs bar from 6.45pm.