DARRYL Eales cannot wait to sample an Oxford-Swindon league derby for the first time, but the U’s chairman admits it is a shame the games require such heavy security.

The intensity, which will make the atmosphere unlike any other at the Kassam Stadium this season, is accompanied by an air of hostility.

Eales, who got his first taste of the rivalry in last season’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy victory, intends to join fans for a pre-match drink at a nearby pub to soak up the mood.

But the U’s chief has mixed feelings about the game.

He said: “It will be my first experience of a full-on league fixture against Swindon, but if the JPT was anything to go by it should be a fantastic occasion.

“I love local derbies and the positive aspects of partisanship and supporting your own team, but quite frankly I think we can do without the other nonsense.

“I’m not suggesting football fans need to be holier than thou.

“I think the message from me is positively support the team, but respect the opposition.

“They are football fans, they just happen to support another team, who are our noisy neighbours.”

As a high-risk fixture, hundreds of police offers will be involved in a bid to prevent trouble between the two sets of fans.

Eales has no problem with the measures, but United’s bill for the operation means the financial boost of a sold-out crowd are diminished.

“I haven’t got the exact numbers, but I would say probably in very broad-brush numbers, the police bill ends up taking maybe a third of the benefit,” he said.

“It’s all lost income that you can’t recover.

“We will probably get four times as much income from the Swindon game than the Rochdale game last weekend.

“So it’s a shame with the high-profile fixtures which are the icing on the cake, they are often accompanied by a higher police bill.

“I completely understand that, it’s just unfortunate.

“Neil Holdstock (safety officer) and his team have done a really good job and I think we have a good relationship with the police.

“I certainly don’t think the police are being at all unreasonable, but wouldn’t it be a lovely occasion if the police weren’t required?”