OXFORD United will hold their first training session in Austria this morning, with boss Michael Appleton saying the players are well aware they are in for a tough week, not a holiday.

The squad arrived yesterday at their base in Wiener Neustadt, 40 miles south of Vienna, where they will stay until Friday.

United’s players dive straight into action today with a double session, ahead of tomorrow’s game with SC Wiener Neustadt.

About 200 fans are believed to be making the journey to watch the game, but it will be no leisure trip for Appleton and the players.

The U’s head coach said: “Absolutely not, they know that anyway and if you’ve seen the way they have worked over the last couple of weeks, they know that.

“It’s going to be pretty compact in what we do, but the fact we’ve got them all together in a nice environment is important.

“There will be a bit of tactical work that we’ll do out there.”

But for Appleton, the value of the trip will be found just as much in the time spent off the pitch.

He said: “The biggest thing for me is you get downtime with all the play-ers.

“Last year the times we saw when we went to Bisham (Abbey) and take them away from the training ground they open up a little bit.

“You certainly learn more about your players.”

United have taken all their senior squad, including first year professionals Freddie Grant, Robbie Cundy and AJ George.

Max Crocombe is the only player missing after playing for New Zealand Under 23s at the Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea, so Sam Slocombe will be the sole goalkeeper.

Some have questioned why United are only playing one game on the trip, but Appleton felt it was more important to maximise the time spent on the training pitch than to squeeze in a second friendly.

He said: “The fact we have our first session on Monday and leave on Friday, I just thought we cannot do it.

“You wouldn’t be able to do anything in between, so we might as well have stayed in Oxford.”

The only concern for the travelling party could be the weather, which is forecast to be hot for the next few days and could mean the timing of training sessions are moved.

Striker Ryan Taylor joked: “I think I’ll be taking a brolly out with me every day in training.

“The factor 50 will be coming as well, but I’m looking forward to getting a good chance to bond with the team.”