DEREK Fazackerley says he has been impressed by the way Michael Appleton has dealt with a challenging start to life as Oxford United’s head coach.

A seven-game winless run at the start of the league season took the team to the brink of a club record, before a 3-1 win at home to Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night calmed the nerves.

The sequence, which came at the start of Appleton’s spell in charge, would have tested many, but Fazackerley has been encouraged by the way United’s boss has stuck to his principles.

“He’s had a difficult start like myself, but I think he’s handled it very well,” said the U’s assistant head coach.

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“He’s been at pains to point out to the players that although the results haven’t been as successful as we’d have wanted them to be, the performances haven’t been far short.

“Let’s hope Tuesday night was the first of many wins.”

Hiring Fazackerley was one of Appleton’s first actions when he took over in July.

The 62-year-old’s arrival was seen as a coup for United, after a distinguished career which included coaching jobs at Newcastle United, Manchester City and England.

In that context, you might have thought working in Sky Bet League Two would take some adjustment.

“Not really,” he said.

“The stadiums you go to are sometimes a bit of a culture shock in terms of the dressing rooms and stuff like that.

“But I’ve been in football a long time and I’ve not always been at the top level.

“The thing about me is the response you get from the players and we’ve had fantastic support from everybody that’s come in since the start of the season.

“If we continue to get that then you can only see the club making progress, there’s absolutely no doubt about that.”

For someone used to working with the likes of David Beckham and Alan Shearer, coaching in the fourth tier offers different challenges.

But for Fazackerley, winning brings the same delight, whether it is against Accrington Stanley or Arsenal.

He said: “The satisfaction of winning at any level gives you a tremendous amount of encouragement and pleasure.

“It’s just doing the best with what you’ve got.

He added: “There are many facets of the game which make a player.

“When you’re working at the top level players tend to have 80 or 90 per cent of all those facets, while here perhaps they don’t have as high a percentage.

“They might be slightly low on technical ability, but give things in other ways.

“It’s a difficult thing, but a lot of the players at this level have been unlucky not to have played at a higher level when you see them perform.”

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