Oxford United were rewarded for their magnificent result against Bristol Rovers by being drawn away to West Ham in the second round of the Carling Cup.

The match at Upton Park will take place on either August 24 or 25 – and it’s likely to mean another massive exodus of U’s fans to London.

United manager Chris Wilder said the Premier League outfit are just about the biggest opponents his team could have got, and chairman Kelvin Thomas, who supports West Ham as his second team after Oxford, is even more delighted.

“It's a fantastic draw,” Wilder told the Oxford Mail last night moments after the draw was made.

“It’s a great draw and I imagine the chairman would have loved it.

“The way the draw is done, with the seeded teams, we were always going to have the opportunity of pulling out a big team at this stage if we got through the first round.

“And out of the teams available, because those in Europe don’t come in yet, there are not many bigger than West Ham.

“It’s a great opportunity for the players, and having taken 2,000 fans to Burton on Saturday, I imagine we might take even more there, which will create a decent atmosphere.

“You don’t know how the West Ham public will see it from their point of view, but I’m sure we’ll have a very good support.

“We would have loved to have been at home, but it’s again another tie where we go into it with nothing to lose, and it’s a great prize after the result on Tuesday night.”

Second round draw: Accrington v Newcastle Utd, Portsmouth v C Palace, Leeds v Leicester C, Wolves v Southend, Blackburn v Norwich, MK Dons v Blackpool, Tranmere v Swansea, Everton v Huddersfield, Peterborough v Cardiff, Reading v Northampton, Scunthorpe v Sheff Wed, Brentford v Hull, Sunderland v Colchester, L Orient v West Brom, Morecambe v Burnley, Birmingham v Rochdale, Crewe v Ipswich, Watford v Notts Co, West Ham v Oxford Utd, Southampton v Bolton, Bradford v Preston, Fulham v Port Vale, Millwall v Middlesbrough, Stoke v Shrewsbury, Hartle-pool v Wigan.