DARRYL Eales heaped praise on Oxford United boss Michael Appleton and believes his leadership is second to none.

The U’s head coach was under-fire at times last season when the club were languishing at the wrong end of the Sky Bet League Two table.

But Eales retained total faith in his head coach, a decision that reaped rewards when United secured automatic promotion through Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Wycombe Wanderers.

Oxford’s chairman says the manner of Appleton’s approach is unbelievably refreshing – and he wouldn’t swap him for anyone.

“My manager is immense,” Eales said.

“We have got a really good relationship, and he is someone who goes about his business with consummate professionalism.

“He is all about performance and preparation.

“When it comes to game day, he has done his job and it’s down to the players.

“The team have performed fantastically well over the course of the season and that comes from Michael.”

Eales added: “Over 46 games the table doesn’t lie.

“We deserve to win promotion and are looking forward to testing ourselves at a higher level.”

United’s chairman is relishing the chance to help Appleton build a team to be competitive in League One.

He believes by looking at those sides who went up 12 months ago, there are plenty of reasons to be positive – not least because he has total faith in his manager.

“Without getting ahead of ourselves, when you have got momentum – look at what Burton have done this season (going up from League Two to the Championship in successive seasons) – anything is possible,” he said.

“None of the promoted sides from last season got into any real trouble, so we can look forward to that.

“But I think we are just so fortunate to have Michael Appleton leading us.

“We will not leave any stone unturned to try and bring long-term, sustainable success to the football club.”