LIAM Manning is pleased with the position his Oxford United side is in as they prepare to get their Sky Bet League One season started this afternoon.

Manning takes the U’s to Cambridge United off the back of a promising pre-season campaign.

The club’s final friendly of the summer saw them thrash Championship side Queens Park Rangers 5-0 at Grenoble Road.

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Looking back on the importance of pre-season now that the real action is about to start, Manning said: “I overanalyse and over-reflect on everything so we looked at the whole programme and the training that we’ve done, and I don’t think there’s a huge number of things I’d change.

“Ultimately, we’ll find out if it’s been a good one come the first few games of the season.

“I’m pleased with where the group’s at and the state they’re at, and the work that we’ve got into the lads, and how they’ve been receptive to it.

“Now the challenge is making sure we transfer that into the game.

“It’s about taking all the good things that we’ve done and building on it.”

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United’s head coach added: “What I quite like when the games get going, is you get in a natural flow and a bit of a routine.

“Things like team meetings or individual meetings get you into that flow state, which we quite like.

“It allows you to be quite efficient with your work but at the same point, there’s a danger you can become comfortable and complacent, which is why I’ve got terrific staff here that don’t allow that to happen.”

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