DANNY Higginbotham says it is no surprise to see Michael Appleton succeeding with young players at Oxford United after watching his influence on Manchester United’s youth team more than two decades ago.

The former Derby County, Southampton and Stoke City defender was at the Kassam Stadium this week as the summariser for Sky Sports’ coverage of the U’s clash with Bolton Wanderers.

It was also a chance to catch up with his fellow Mancunian, who he first met at Manchester United in the 1990s.

Higginbotham is three years his junior, so they spent little time playing and training together, but Appleton still made a big impression.

He said: “I remember him as a combative midfielder who took no prisoners and didn’t ask anything from anyone on the pitch that he wouldn’t do himself.

“He was only 19 or 20, but he was someone a lot of the young lads looked up to.

“Appy always had time for the young lads like myself.

“You need that in management, especially with a young squad that he’s doing well with now.”

After a rocky start to his managerial career, Appleton has rebuilt his reputation with the U’s, where he is now the 15th longest-serving boss in England’s top four divisions.

Higginbotham’s television work has seen him analyse several of the side’s games in the last 18 months and he has been impressed with their approach.

He said: “I watched Oxford a few times last season and I couldn’t believe how good they were against Swansea in the FA Cup.

“Then I did the JPT game at Millwall a few days later and it was a team full of brave players.

“When I watch a team I always look in the first five minutes and you know their identity.

“That’s what I get when I see Oxford play – within a few minutes you can see what they want to do.

“The struggling teams are the ones who don’t seem to have that.

“It’s one thing getting good players, but it’s another one to get them to do what you want.

“The majority of managers will tell you they may change the system, but they have principles.

“Some lose a few games and then chase a result by changing things, but the managers who trust their system and stick with it will come out the other side.”