Oxford United striker Matty Taylor hopes The U's can begin the league on the front foot, after two seasons of slow starts, and thinks the club's new signings will help.

In both of their previous two seasons Oxford, suffered play-off heartbreak losing to Blackpool and Wycombe Wanderers respectively.

Taylor, 31, is hoping Oxford can have a different turn of fate this season, he told The Witney Gazette; "You’re well aware of the start in the last two seasons.

“The signings being in earlier helps and we’ve kept the core of the group that has been successful in the last two seasons, without getting over that final hurdle.

“If I can improve on my performances and everyone else does that then collectively we won’t be too far away.”

In both of his seasons at The Kassam Stadium, Taylor has been Oxford's leading goal scorer, with 13 goals in 2019-2020 bettered by an impressive 19 goals the following season.

Oxford boss Karl Robinson has made a significant effort to improve his squad this offseason, adding seven new faces to the team.

With a full pre-season under their belt, Taylor is confident Oxford - along with their new signings, can make a better showing of themselves this time around. However, when speaking to The Witney Gazette, Taylor knows nothing is guaranteed; "We probably ran into the best side in the play-offs last season and Blackpool fully deserved their promotion.

“We’ve signed one of their defenders (Jordan Thorniley), so hopefully he adds to us at the back.

“We know we can score more goals, hopefully we can keep tight at the back and if we keep more clean sheets we’ll win more games.

“We haven’t earned anything yet, we need to lay down a marker early.”

The U's had the worst defensive record in the top six last season, which can largely be put down to their poor form early on - conceding 19 goals in their opening 10 fixtures, losing seven games in the process.

Oxford kick-off the League One season away at recently promoted Cambridge United, and will hoping to start the season with a win.

The Verdict 

League One is full of talented sides, all fancying their chances of promotion success - Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping for an instant return to The Championship, whilst both Wigan and Ipswich have made some impressive signings. That's not even to mention the quality of Charlton, Sunderland, Rotherham and Lincoln.

Oxford could once again be in the mix, but if they want to compete at the top of the table they need to get rid of their early season hoodoo. If not, their promotion dreams could quickly slip away.