'Intensity of the Championship has me taken aback'

After six league games, Oxford United are ninth with nine points in the Championship

I have to admit that watching Championship football regularly for the first time since the turn of the century, I have been taken aback by so much of it.

If I had to pick one thing, it would be the sheer intensity of the games.

The data backs it up.

Oxford United players are running further and faster in every game than they had to last season in League One.

Thinking time is inevitably reduced too.

Oxford’s matches so far this season have seen them start games with eight or nine of the team that played in the League One play-off final in May.

Though the new signings are in double figures - Siriki Debele and Idris El Mouzini have particularly impressed - it is guys who were League One players six months ago who have been raising their game to deliver three wins from the opening six fixtures.

Time will tell if, collectively, their form will dip and if the demands of this higher division will take their toll.

Injuries are just starting to become a worry and Oxford are still waiting for their first points on the road.

They have been ahead in two of their three away games and were level going into to stoppage time in the other.

They are not alone – Portsmouth and Derby have a similar tales to tell on how unforgiving Championship road trips can be for newly-promoted sides.

The intensity of the atmosphere at the Kassam Stadium has been nothing short of incredible.

Sold out every week, with each match feeling like a play-off game or a huge cup tie. Supporters have embraced the "teams like Oxford" mantra.

They have seen that they can play their part in helping their side prove to be greater than the sum of their parts against more illustrious and better funded opposition – infuriating those fans who struggle to process defeat against the likes of the U’s.

I can't overstate how impressive this all is.

The often derided three-sided ground, that was half-built the last time Oxford had a second-tier team, is now tired and the club hopes it is nearer the end of its useful existence.

Yet it has been rocking – a special place since the very late charge to the play-offs, and then promotion, last season.

A sold-out ground still provides average attendances smaller than anyone else in the division.

This again demonstrates how the Championship has changed.

When Oxford were relegated from it in 1999, 11,000-plus crowds would have been higher than eight clubs at that level.

It is just a bigger, better league now and Oxford know they are minnows in it.

'Buckingham and his team have delivered'

But, understated Oxfordshire is shouting about its team. The replica shirts worn around the shopping streets of the city and surrounding towns and villages are now as likely to be yellow as the red or blue of a Premier League team.

All this is happening on the watch of Des Buckingham.

In 11 months, he has experienced a decade's worth of highs and lows in charge of his hometown club.

His appearance on The Dub podcast this week was revelatory.

He spoke of the "dark days" and was open about how managing the club, based within walking distance of his childhood home, presents unique challenges.

He spoke with conviction about the importance of surrounding himself with wise and talented people.

The intensity of the Championship impacts all his coaching staff too.

They have dropped tactical and selection surprises almost every week, mostly with success, and the need for multiple in-game adjustments has been embraced.

Buckingham and his team have delivered.

Oxford's 1-0 win over Stoke City was their third in their first five games of the Championship season

The owners have come up with a budget which gives them a chance and club staff are doing a good job of trying to keep pace with the on-field product.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season so far is just how quickly Oxford have looked at home in the Championship - even if muscle memory might still have fans typing in "League One" when they’re looking up fixtures or the table, or they forget they're not in the early rounds of the FA Cup.

Of course, dangers lie ahead. If the club, team or fans grow weary, or in the least bit complacent, they'll be a Bristol Street Motors Trophy team again before they know it.

They must be resolute if, and when, there's a poor run of results.

For now Oxford are, just, that top-30 club they dreamed of being.

To remain so, even as a Championship club, they mustn't lose sight of every single point being precious.

This has so far been a whole lot of fun.

Long may it continue.