Oxford United loanee Kyle Edwards believes that his new club share similarities with League One promotion winners Ipswich Town, according to the Witney Gazette.
The 25-year-old joined the U’s on transfer deadline day on a season-long loan after making 32 league appearances for Ipswich during their march to the Championship last season. However, the majority of those appearances came from the bench and manager Kieran McKenna allowed him to depart Portman Road on a temporary deal in the summer.
He has started life at the Kassam Stadium in excellent fashion, scoring two times in three outings including in the 3-0 win over Fleetwood Town on Saturday.
Edwards has joined up with former teammate Greg Leigh at Oxford, with the winger revealing he sees similarities between his new club and the Tractor Boys. Speaking to the Witney Gazette, the former England under-20 star said;
“There’s stuff that we’ll take last year from Ipswich coming up, that we can definitely bring to the group.
“Any way we can try and help the team, and help the group, it’ll be better for all of us.
“The intensity in training was the biggest thing and the biggest similarity from last year. We trained really hard, so when it came to the games, it felt a lot easier.
“I’ve come in and it’s been the same here – the intensity in training and focus in training.”
Oxford have enjoyed a fantastic start to the season and currently sit one point behind leaders Exeter City – who they play on Saturday – in third. However, they have played a game less than the Grecians after their clash with Lincoln City was postponed earlier this month due to international call-ups.
They face MK Dons in the EFL Trophy tonight, but will already have one eye on their fixture against the early pacesetters this weekend.
Writer’s View
Manager Liam Manning has done an excellent job at Oxford since taking over in March and was named the League One Manager of the Month in August. He has brought together a group of players who look capable of challenging for promotion, and Kyle Edwards is someone who could play a key role in that.
After already tasting promotion at Ipswich last season, it is a huge compliment to say that he can see the similarities between the way things are carried out at the two teams. All eyes will be on the Kassam Stadium on Saturday between two of the form teams in the division, and Oxford could end the day top of the table themselves with a win.
