'Playing a full 90 will be good for me' - Davies

Oxford United defender Ben Davies says he was delighted to make his U's debut in the 2-2 draw with Leicester City - his first game of football since April.

Davies signed for the U's on a season-long loan from Scottish Premiership side Rangers this summer, having been on loan last season at Birmingham City.

"It's been around five months since I started a game so I was not sure how my fitness would last but I've been working hard after pre-season," Davies told BBC Radio Oxford.

"To play a full 90 [minutes], that's good for me. I think there'll be improvement off the back of that from a personal point of view.

"I love that Saturday feeling of game day and it's good to be back playing."

After returning to Rangers following his loan spell at Blues, Davies did not feature in any of the Gers' pre-season friendlies before signing for Oxford in late August.

Davies played as the left sided centre-back against Leicester in a back four rather than head coach Gary Rowett's usual back five. His defensive stability, combined with fellow debutant Filip Krastev's attacking attributes, balanced out the team.

"You can see that [balance] when you're trying to play, trying to build and trying to get into good positions," Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford.

Midfielder Krastev also had a limited pre-season with his parent club Lommel SK, who play in the Belgian second tier. He joined them in 2020 but has been sent out on loan seven times since.

"I thought he'd been sharp in training and I thought he showed some lovely positions, some lovely touches [against Leicester]," Rowett added. "He picks up very good defensive positions as well."

Listen to the full interviews with Ben Davies and Gary Rowett on Sounds.