In the latest column written by United fans, ASHLEY WILDE reflects on tears turning to cheers

HAVING unfortunately missed the glory years, my earliest memories of following Oxford United come from the start of this millennium.

Though I visited the Manor with my dad, Grenoble Road is the only place I’ve truly known as our ‘home’.

Despite this, I found it no harder to fall in love with the club than I imagine most did during the earlier periods of success.

On that fateful day in 2006 when we were relegated to the Conference, I burst into tears at the final whistle. A lady hugged me, saying “don’t worry, we’ll be back”.

The blessing in disguise during those unsuccessful years is I always saw us as a big club.

Playing Oxford was like a cup final for many teams.

That image has stayed with me, though we’re no longer languishing in non-league.

When I sing about the U’s being the greatest team the world has ever seen, part of me genuinely believes it.

We are a great club. And although the lady probably didn’t imagine it would take this long, we are definitely back.