Oxford United’s most recent goalscorer, Simon Clist, reckons all the pressure’s on Burton in Friday night’s televised promotion battle.
The 27-year-old midfielder, who netted a superb second goal in United’s 2-0 win at Woking on Easter Monday, believes Oxford are very capable of winning at the Pirelli Stadium and shocking the league leaders, who still need one more point to clinch promotion.
“I think we can win at Burton because we’re on a great run and the away form’s good,” said the former Bristol City, Torquay, Barnet and Forest Green player, who has yet to be in a losing U’s side away from home.
“The pressure’s on them really, they’ve got to close out that championship and teams are chasing them.
“We’ve got nothing to lose and we’re going to go there and give it everything we’ve got.
“I know what it’s like from when I was at Barnet, when you’re trying to close out the championship, the cameras are there and the pressure’s on, it can be tough. And we’re in good form.
“It’s great to be in a position where you’ve got something to play for at this time of the season, and hopefully we can win one more away game and sneak in there.
“It was a bit disappointing to come back into the dressing room on Monday and hear that everyone else had won, but you can only do what you can, keep getting the wins to keep putting the pressure on right to the end.
“You never know what’s going to happen, I’ve seen it before in this league. Teams do slip up right at the end when the pressure gets to them, we’ve just got to keep our run going.”
Clist drew praise from manager Chris Wilder for his two high-energy performances over Easter, and he admits his goal at Kingfield gave him a lot of pleasure.
“Im pleased with every goal I score, but I do like to try and support the attack when we’re breaking and the strikers end up on the wing,” he said.
“I was bombing on, and it just bounced up nicely for me. I took it in my stride, so I was happy with it.”
Clist certainly has no regrets about his move to Oxford, or the three-year deal he signed.
“The fans here are unbelieveable. When we turned up at Woking, quite early, they were already there and having a party of their own.
“The numbers tell us what great support the club has, they really get behind the lads and have really played a big part in this run we’ve had.”
BARRY Quinn is set to make his Oxford United return in a friendly against Kidlington on Saturday.
Quinn has missed the second half of the season after an operation on a troublesome ankle injury.
Shane Killock will also play as he continues his return after a hamstring injury.
The match kicks-off at 12 noon, with admission £3 for adults and £1 for concessions.
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