It will be a bit of a strange weekend for us, not just the players but the fans.

Saturday afternoon is usually match time but instead we will be waiting and looking forward to a game against Arsenal on Monday evening.

For the staff and players, it means training today. Our usual routine ahead of a Saturday game is to train on Thursday then use Friday as a lighter session but work specifically on our plans for the game itself.

So this week we just move things back a couple of days and we do the same.

If we want to progress as a club and become a Championship side, then you have to get used to games being moved away from their traditional three o’clock schedule.

That word ‘tradition’ is what the FA Cup is all about and games like Oxford United against Arsenal really bring home why the competition remains the best in the world.

We are massive underdogs, a League One side playing the best team in the country, but we sold out of tickets almost immediately, there will be millions of people watching on ITV, and the atmosphere will be unbelievable.

We did our pre-match media on Thursday and usually I talk to the BBC and the Oxford Mail.

This week there were 19 different interviews to be done!

I can only apologise if you keep hearing me on the radio or TV in the next few days but we shared it out among the players as well, and our club will feature in just about every national newspaper over the next few days.

That’s a fantastic way to showcase what we do as a club and hopefully we back it up with a performance to be proud of on Monday.

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The question I was asked the most this week, inevitably, was whether we had a chance.

If both sides play to the potential then the answer is probably no: Arsenal have a team full of international stars who should be too strong.

But this is the FA Cup and we know that anything can happen.

Why were there 19 media outlets at the training ground this week?

Because the public love an upset and because in the cup anyone can beat anyone.

With respect to the millions of Arsenal fans, we won’t just have the support of Oxford United’s fanbase on Monday, we will have millions more people willing us on as underdogs.

All we can promise is total commitment and passion. We can’t wait.

Alongside the FA Cup, we have another big game on Tuesday evening when the Under-18s play Cardiff City at the Kassam Stadium in the FA Youth Cup.

I have been to each of the games so far and thoroughly enjoyed watching them, so it would be great to see as many of you as possible at the game.

For most of them, it will be a first chance to play at the Kassam Stadium.

If they make it through, then they are the first Oxford United youth team to reach the fifth round, since club records began, so they can write themselves into history.

With the Women playing their first game of 2023 at Bridgwater United on Sunday, what an exciting week we have in prospect for everyone.