JOHN Lundstram is confident Oxford United will flourish in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a derby against Swindon Town today.

It is the first league meeting between the rivals for more than four years and the Kassam Stadium will be a near-12,000 sell-out.

Anticipation has been building since the fixtures were announced in June and the U’s go into the game looking to extend their winning run over Swindon to a record six matches.

The United captain knows the action will be frenetic, especially early on, but believes the hosts have the quality to shine under the circumstances and perform better than in their 1-0 win against Rochdale last weekend.

He said: “We all know it will be 100 miles per hour against Swindon, so hopefully we can get that first pass out on the turnover which I didn’t think we had last week.

“If we have that, with the pace and talent we have up top we can cause problems.

“You’ll see what good players are here, because they can deal with the pressure.

“I think the team with the most talent and heart will win.”

United have spent much of their preparation looking to treat the fixture just like any other game.

But Lundstram knows for he and his teammates, today will not just be a normal Sat-

urday.

“You’d be lying if you said you didn’t wake up feeling different,” he said.

“You want to go out and beat them because you know how much it means to the fans.”

Lundstram’s own displays have come under scrutiny as he has struggled to hit the heights of a superb first season with the club.

While the former Everton apprentice acknowledges there is room for improvement, it is not giving him cause for concern.

He said: “It’s been a bit indifferent. Last Saturday I gave it away in a five-minute spell, but other than that I wasn’t too bad.

“I think I can do better, it’s just we haven’t had the ball as much this year.

“Once we start getting a lot more of the ball and the squad starts gelling, I’ll be able to run games.”