HOOPS DREAM IS NOW REALITY

ROSS JENKINS believes Oxford City’s opening fixtures encapsulate the National League in a nutshell.

- Matt Badcock

The Step 1 rookie Hoops begin their first ever Step 1 season with a trip to Aldershot Town before welcoming another ex-Football League duo of Rochdale and Chesterfield for back-to-back home games.

Then it’s experienced campaigners FC Halifax Town and Maidenhead United before August finishes with last season’s play-off semi-finalists Boreham Wood.

Head coach Jenkins, 32, who took the club to promotion through the National League South play-offs in May, says it will be a good marker for where they are, what they might need to tweak – and what they’ve worked so hard to take on.

“We put in a lot of work and a lot of hours,” Jenkins, right, told The NLP. "For a part-time club, we were talking on a regular basis like a full-time club - the staff and players went beyond their part-time remit to get this outcome.