IT’S a hugely exciting day for everyone involved as we take on Middlesbrough this afternoon in the FA Cup.

Anyone who doubts the magic of this famous old competition should have been at the training ground on Thursday morning when we had just about every national newspaper and TV channel down to talk about the game.

I can only imagine what it has been like down at Sutton before their tie against Arsenal.

People love to see an upset and over the last couple of years we have given the Oxford supporters plenty of great memories from games against the likes of Brentford, Newcastle United, Rotherham United and Swansea City.

It’s not by luck or coincidence that we have earned a reputation as giant-killers.

We take each competition seriously and we go out there afraid of no team.

One of the most pleasing things for me is that we have won those games playing good football.

Clearly you need to adapt at times when you are playing sides above you in the football pyramid, but you cannot change things so dramatically that you don’t play your natural way.

I have seen teams win a league game one week playing decent football then try and stick ten men behind the ball and nick a goal in the cup the next week. That is not our style.

We have a certain mentality and way of doing things at Oxford and it is important that we stay true to those, no matter who we are playing.

It is not going to be easy. Away from home against a Premier League side is definitely the biggest test we have had so far.

If we are not at our best then we are going to be out of the FA Cup, it’s as simple as that.

But having said that, you look around the training pitch and see the way the lads have been preparing and you can’t help wondering, ‘what if?’.

I’m telling you, the players believe they can cause an upset, the staff believe it, and I know there will be 4,000 fans travelling north believing they are going to see their team upset the odds.

Whatever happens, it will be a fantastic occasion and one to enjoy.

Hopefully it will be another day where we play bright attacking football and create some fantastic memories for our magnificent supporters.

THE forward planning never stops at the football club and this week has seen us release news about a pre-season trip to Portugal.

We will be heading out for an intense week of training in the sun in the week of July 10.

I know the fans love our preseason games in Europe and thoroughly enjoyed the trips to Austria and Spain.

But for us it is a key part of our preparations for next season.

We have selected a training base with first-class facilities, and rest assured there aren’t going to be many sun-loungers around when the players are being put through their paces on the training pitches over there.