Mansfield Town pop into Oxford tomorrow for United's last Saturday home game of the season. For Mansfield the game is meaningless, their chances of reaching the play-offs disappearing a couple of weeks ago. For Oxford there is still the matter of ensuring a third-place finish while trying to gather what momentum they can in their last three matches. After Tuesday's disappointing goalless draw with Cambridge United, Oxford know that they will need to pose more of an attacking threat to score enough goals to triumph in the play-offs.

To that end, it looks possible that Alfie Potter might be in line to rejoin the side after sitting out the last couple of games after turning his ankle in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup victory over Banbury United. The obvious player for him to replace is Franny Green, but with Chris Wilder praising the former Kettering Town striker after a somewhat limp performance against Cambridge, Potter may find himself starting on the bench. Also in contention for returning to the squad are centre-back Rhys Day and midfielder Chris Hargreaves, although the current incumbents of those positions have done nothing to recommend being replaced. What Oxford do need to do is to sort out their passing game, and with a decent-looking weather forecast for tomorrow there will be no excuse to blame the conditions.

Mansfield have a few ex-Us among their ranks, although their captain Luke Foster may have to sit out the game after the clubs agreed that he wouldn't feature when the Stags signed him from the Yellows for an undisclosed fee. The manner of Foster's departure from Oxford is still shrouded in secrecy and controversy, but he will probably still receive a decent welcome from the United supporters. The same cannot be said of Andy Burgess, who has set himself up for abuse after disparaging remarks he has made about Oxford's play-off chances. Burgess was one of the big disappointments of United's first Conference season, with undoubted talent that he could rarely be bothered to use, despite opening the season with a fabulous goal against Halifax Town. Since his departure from Oxford he has shown himself to be a bitter individual, and his disappearing act when he played here for Rushden & Diamonds after an early 'tackle' by Michael Howard remains a cherished memory. The other ex-Oxford player in Mansfield's ranks is Rob Duffy, United's leading scorer in 2006-07. Duffy's prowess from the penalty spot is without doubt, but it was the other aspects of his game that let him down. It was his glaring miss against Exeter City in the play-off semi-finals that really rankled with Oxford supporters, combined with some desperately poor performances the following season that saw his departure welcomed by Us supporters. One hopes that the notorious, if overstated, curse of the old-boys doesn't come to fruition.

In last night's Conference games Barrow ensured that they can't be relegated by beating Crawley Town 4-1. Hayes & Yeading United achieved a similar milestone with a 2-2 draw at home to Kidderminster Harriers. Former Oxford striker Scott Fitzgerald scored both Hayes goals before falling victim to a second yellow card. In fact, third-bottom Forest Green Rovers could still catch Barrow and Hayes, but they would need to win both their remaining games, while the others lost their final matches, and make up a healthy goal difference. Ain't gonna happen, folks! [@opponent]mansfield town[/@opponent] [@connection]mansfield town[/@connection]