This is Liam Manning's latest column written exclusively for the Oxford Mail.

We have a blank weekend again today due to the international break. Greg Leigh, Fin Stevens and James Beadle are all away with their national sides and with Reading also having call ups we called the scheduled game off as early as possible. We had sold out the away end and that should mean a tremendous atmosphere when we play the rearranged game there just before Christmas.

With no game today we have given the players a weekend off although they worked hard all week. We will regroup on Monday morning to spend the week preparing for a tough looking run of games, starting with Blackpool at home next Saturday.

We will be without Oisin Smyth for that one through suspension but Stan Mills has been cleared to play after a successful appeal we lodged with the FA. We consider appeals very carefully: if you are judged to be appealing ‘friviously’ they can extend the ban still further. But in this case the challenge  happened right in front of the dugouts and I couldn’t have had a better view.

I knew there was no intent from Stan and could see that he took the ball but then you have to work out whether the evidence you can assemble is clear enough to overturn the initial decision.

You will all have seen the game from the TV camera but our analysis and media teams have different angles, videos and photos from different sources. They worked hard to find the supporting evidence and then Vanessa Gomm our Club Secretary puts that all together to form the appeal.

In the end, I think the right decision was made and we move on, although we did have a quiet word with the players. That’s twice this season that we have had two players sent off in the same game. On this occasion we won the game but why make it harder than it needs to be?

It makes it harder for the fans too: it made the last few minutes a bit more nerve-wracking than they needed to be. Like the players, maybe a weekend off will help all of you too!

It was interesting to see Greg Leigh win the Sky Bet Player of the Month award yesterday. The panel usually pick a striker who has scored lots of goals that month. If not then they tend to pick a goalkeeper if the defence has done well. For a left-back to win is unusual but does show the impact Greg has had in his first month with us.

Sometimes it takes a while for a player to settle at a new club but Greg has certainly hit the ground running and also become a big favourite with the fans.

I noticed that the supporters voted Marcus McGuane as our Player of the Month and I think there were three or four other players who will have been in the running. All of which underlines the depth we have and the positive way that everyone has contributed. Individual awards are nice but the team comes first and we haven’t won anything together yet…