THERE are a couple of reasons why the Oxford United players are not going to need much extra motivation this afternoon.

First of all, we are taking on a Bradford City side that are unbeaten so far this season.

I can see why – they are a very talented side who can switch things around, play in a number of different ways and have an experienced boss in Stuart McCall.

Their 12-game unbeaten start means confidence will be sky high, but it can also be a bit of a millstone around their neck.

The longer it goes on, the more people talk about it and the bigger target they become.

That unbeaten record has to go some time and we are looking forward to giving it our best shot.

Another incentive is to make up for that first half against Wimbledon.

We are always very honest in our appraisal and the first 45 minutes were nowhere near good enough.

We conceded sloppy goals and can have no excuses for being 3-0 down at half time.

A lot of the talk after the game centred on a challenge on Wes Thomas in the build-up to the second goal.

However, that should not be allowed to mask a below-par 45 minutes when we got what we deserved.

We definitely improved after the break.

Getting an early goal in the second half meant we were back in the game, but this is a hard enough division without giving a side a three-goal lead.

The damage had been done, but we looked more threatening and at least gave ourselves some positives to take away from the game.

I ’m sure plenty of fans immediately deleted the game from their planners.

But it was really important we watched it back and learned lessons. Then we moved on.

Football moves so quickly that you cannot afford to dwell on things too much.

Instead we trained hard in the early part of the week and started to refine things and put plans in place for today.

The players have been excellent in training and there is a real determination to show everyone what we can do.

THERE is an interesting trial happening for today’s game, with the club and the Oxford Bus Company putting on a bus to bring students direct from Brookes University.

It follows our appearance at the Freshers Fair a couple of weeks ago in Headington and the plan is to try and strengthen the link we already have with Brookes and the wider student population.

Obviously the number of students in Oxford is huge and if we can build bridges and attract more people it can only be a good thing.

Brighton are one club who do this very well and have shown there are huge benefits to working with local universities and colleges, not just in terms of ticket sales, but also for recruitment and general awareness.

The fans here are unbelievable, home and away, so with a little luck the Brookes students will be part of a great game and another terrific atmosphere this afternoon.