DARRYL Eales saluted the hundreds of Oxford United fans who have travelled to Spain this week for helping to lay the foundations for next season.

The squad fly home today after a productive six days near Malaga spent stepping up their preparations for the new season, which kicks off in three weeks.

The trip was rounded off last night when the Yellow Army turned out in force to the club’s training base at La Cala resort for the 1-0 defeat against UD Marbella.

Eales has been stunned to see 600 supporters fly out to support the side, which the U’s chairman believes bodes well for the new campaign.

He said: “The preparation from a physical perspective is essential, which means we’ll hopefully turn up fit and ready on August 6.

“But then the bigger picture for me is the cultural aspect and creating the ethos, camaraderie and team spirit which served us so well last year.

“When I say team spirit I mean that in the broadest sense, it’s not just players and the coaching staff, it’s the whole club.

“The most critical element of this is the fans – I still cannot believe we had 600 people out here.”

The trip follows last year’s visit to Austria, which came to be seen as an important step towards the side’s promotion from Sky Bet League Two ten months later.

For Eales, this week has surpassed even what was achieved in Wiener Neustadt.

He said: “I think it’s been another one of those weeks, just like Austria, where we’ll look back and see that it’s been the foundation of a really successful season.

“I think every experience has its time – Austria should be remembered as a precursor to a fantastic season.

“This week should be seen as a precursor to a new adventure in League One.

“It’s different, but I feel this week has been better.

“Austria was almost a jolt to the relationships across the club which served us really well. Now we’re taking that to the next level.”

At one stage yesterday it looked like United would announce a new signing.

They are understood to be close, although with the U’s travelling back from Spain today, it may not now be wrapped up until after the weekend.