LIAM Manning has faith that his players will keep their cool this weekend in a fixture which has had its fair share of spice over the years.

Oxford United welcome Bristol Rovers to Grenoble Road tomorrow afternoon for a 12.30pm kick-off, at the request of the police.

In recent times, Matty Taylor was a target for Rovers supporters, however his U’s exit this summer is set to take a lot of the sting out of the fixture.

Taylor represented the Pirates for two and a half years, before leaving for bitter rivals Bristol City on deadline day in January 2017.

His first game back at the Memorial Stadium in August 2019 was with United – a clash which saw Karl Robinson’s side receive a police escort to the ground due to the circumstances surrounding Taylor’s return to the club.

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U’s head coach Manning is confident United’s current crop of players will handle the occasion though.

Asked how he will take the heat out of the game if it does boil over on the pitch, Manning responded: “It’s a consistent thing day-to-day that we do in our culture.

“I don’t think you can all of a sudden just talk about it on Saturday.

“If you want to get better at shooting, you go and practise shooting every day – you don’t get better at shooting just because you’ve done it once.

“Having a level of awareness around it is quite important, and understanding what does discipline look like in-game and what does bravery look in-game?

“So many of the players in the group have progressed in that area.”

Manning highlighted how his players retained focus in midweek when they came up against a dogged Shrewsbury Town side.

He said: “We played against a block the other night, and I think back to when we did it against Cambridge, what that looked like in terms of not dominating duels, not taking enough risks with the ball.

“Then I see the progress the other night, and we have progressed from the first game of the season.

“That was really refreshing to see, especially when you play against the block teams and they try to sit off and frustrate you.

“They try and make you lose discipline and focus, but that’s what pleased me the other night, was that we sustained a really high level of those.”

Manning added: “I want people to be emotional but I want it to be controlled, that’s the big difference.

“The same with people not in the team. I want them to be annoyed, disappointed and frustrated, but of course, respect the decision.

“I want players that are emotional and have heart in their performance, but I want them to control it.

“When you play off emotion, it can become quite dangerous and you might lose discipline or focus.”