The Oxford United boss spoke ahead of the game against MK Dons

Aaron Ramsey has called for unity ahead of Oxford United’s League One opener against MK Dons.

The U’s return to the division after suffering relegation from the Championship last season, and have been hit with a transfer embargo this summer, severely limiting the Welshman’s chances of rebuilding.

Forced to play a lot of academy and youth team players during their pre-season games last month, Ramsey has called on the fans to get behind his side heading into the new season, trying to drown out the noise coming from behind-the-scenes at the Kassam Stadium.

“I can empathise with our supporters,” he said. “There’s obviously a lot going on behind the scenes but for me, this is an opportunity for everyone to come together. We’ve got to stick together through the 90 minutes to get the three points.

“We’ve got to ignore what’s going on off the pitch, there are a lot of things that are trying to work against us with what’s happened over the last year. But this is us, we need the fans to get behind us so we can be successful this season.

“We’ve used a lot of the young players, the academy is in a really good place. The boys who have come through have been superb and deserve a lot of praise and deserve the opportunity to go out and play.

“It won’t be perfect, I know that. There will be ups and downs.

“There will be a real intensity about the team, that’s what I want from my team. I want us to be exciting. One of my values is for everyone to enjoy it, I want the fans to be proud of this team.”