TODAY we travel down to Bristol Rovers. Our away tickets are all sold out and I am sure those fans will be looking for us to carry on our recent good form.

It is a fascinating game, made all the more interesting after our opponents won 6-0 away at Northampton Town last weekend.

We have watched that back and it was a terrific performance, so Rovers will rightly be full of confidence this afternoon.

But so will we.

No midweek game means we have been able to build up to this match over the whole week.

Monday was a day off – it is important to recharge the batteries properly, especially after a hard physical game against AFC Wimbledon.

On Tuesday, we analysed that game and then trained well.

Wednesday was a good session and then on Thursday we started to build towards the game against Rovers, working on shape, pattern and set pieces.

Everyone knows their roles by Saturday and then it is just a case of focusing and putting it into action.

It has been good to have Jon Obika and Dwight Tiendalli back in training with us throughout the week.

They may be involved again today, but we also have to bear in mind we have two home games in the next seven days, against Charlton Athletic and Rotherham United.

There is no point rushing players back in to action only for them to suffer a setback and be out for a longer period.

The same is true of Rob Hall and Gino van Kessel, who are very much in our plans once again.

With Canice Carroll back from international duty and Charlie Raglan making progress we are in good shape.

The one notable absentee is Ivo Pekalski.

Ivo sufferd an injury during the first week after he joined and, following a few weeks of treatment, we have allowed him to go back to Sweden for a while to rest and start his recovery. You can go a little stir crazy if you are in the treatment room for a long period, so a few weeks at home will benefit him.

He is a great pro and will be back as soon as possible for the next phase of his recovery.

ONE of the nicest parts of the job is seeing a young footballer being given the opportunity of a lifetime.

On Thursday afternoon, we offered Owen James his first professional contract, the day before his 17th birthday.

He is a bright young player and knows he has to listen to the right people, work hard and be totally dedicated over the next few years.

From what our development team tell me, he has a great attitude and we have high hopes for him.

I had the pleasure of meeting his parents when he signed.

They were rightly very proud of their son and it was fantastic to hear him thank them and say that he owed everything to their encouragement and support.

I hope that Owen has a big role to play in the Oxford United family for many years.