Oxford United are taking extra measures in a bid to ensure Saturday’s home game against Barnet beats the freeze.

Chairman Kelvin Thomas has assured fans that the club are doing everything they can to get the npower League Two match on, and is confident it will be.

“We’re not overly concerned about the game on Saturday,” he told the club’s website.

Officials have been liaising with the Oxford University groundstaff, who work on the Kassam Stadium pitch.

“We’ve been in constant dialogue with the university and the stadium company, and the pitch covers will be arriving this week, which we’ve been asking for,” he added.

“The pitch isn’t as bad as you may think, so we’ll be managing that this week and we’ll make sure that the game is on come Saturday.

“I know there are a few concerns about it on the back of the Boxing Day game last year, but we’ve learned our lessons from that.”

Thomas believes it is important that, as a football club, United “stay steady” and have a positive attitude to take the club forward, even when there is criticism from fans.

He said: “You get sniped at from time to time and it’s frustrating for Chris and the players, but it’s about staying strong and focussed and staying positive, and it’s about ensuring that we keep moving forward.”