Chester City visit the KasStad for the very first time on Saturday, and they find themselves being welcomed by a club in turmoil, as United find themselves managerless, and at the worst possible time. The out-of-contract players at the club are rightly concerned about their futures, and with the transfer window applying to all league clubs this summer, there is only a short time for whichever manager finds himself (or herself) in the unenviable position of taking charge of Oxford to build a squad.

David Oldfield finds himself in the capacity of caretaker manager for the last game of the season, having taken charge of the reserves for their 0-0 draw at Brighton last night. Because Horacio Rodriguez and Pablo Fernandez have already left the club, at Firoz Kassam’s request, Oldfield will also be taking charge of any pre-match training. Team selection is obviously an unknown at this stage, with Oldfield having to decide whether or not to give a chance to current fringe players with a view to next season, or to some of the out-of-contract players to determine if they’re ready for retention.

Chester have recently named Keith Curle as their new manager, so we’ve had a lucky escape there, and they still have former United captain Phil Bolland in their squad. They currently lie 20th in the division, ten points behind United. The lowest league attendance at the KasStad remains the 4,089 who watched the Lincoln game on 16 October, but with today’s events there is a good chance that figure will not be reached on Saturday. There is also a danger that this figure could be an above-average crowd next season. The big question is whether or not Firoz Kassam will be prepared to face the crowd with his traditional end-of-season speech, to urge us all to buy season tickets. His reception, should he do so, will be interesting.