MARK Harris is looking forward to taking on his hometown side when Oxford United welcome Swansea City this evening.
Swansea-born Harris came through the academy system at arch-rivals Cardiff City, going on to make 95 appearances for the Bluebirds, while netting 10 goals.
He joined the U’s last week though and got his first taste of action on Tuesday night, playing the first 45 minutes of the goalless draw away at Eastleigh before being replaced at the half-time break by Billy Bodin.
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Discussing coming up against the Swans, Harris said: “It’ll be nice – I’m from there originally but to play against them will be great.
“They’re a great team and it’ll be a tough test for us, so hopefully we’ll go out and put on a performance, and the result will take care of itself.
“I’ve played against them for Cardiff and it’ll be very different.
“Obviously it’ll still be competitive and both teams will want to win, but Cardiff and Swansea is a lot more fiery.”
Although Harris enjoyed loan spells away from the Bluebirds, with Newport County, Port Vale and Wrexham, his move to United is his first permanent move away from South Wales.
Cardiff announced on June 9 that an offer had been made to out of contract Harris, however 21 days later, the club confirmed that he would be leaving after no deal was struck.
Asked how hard a decision it was to leave the Bluebirds, Harris responded: “It was very difficult, I’d been there since my first training session as a little boy.
“I was five years of age and it was all I’d known, so it was a difficult decision but I wanted something new and something fresh, and as soon as I heard from Oxford and spoke to the gaffer, I thought this was the right challenge for me.”
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A couple of familiar faces have eased the process for the 24-year-old though.
He explained: “I know Ciaron Brown very well and played with him at Under-21s with Cardiff, and the first team.
“Obviously Josh Murphy as well, I’ve known him for about a season or two.
“It’s nice to see some familiar faces, just to settle in a bit quicker, but all the lads have welcomed me very well.
“I know two of the lads here already and that’s helped me settle in.
“I feel like I can come here and settle in well, and hopefully play as many games as I can and be happy at Oxford.”
The Swans have made an impressive start to pre-season, recording 5-0 victories against Newport and Swindon Town, plus a 2-0 win over Cymru Premier side Haverfordwest County.
Former Barnsley boss Michael Duff has also overseen a goalless draw with Danish outfit Brondby this summer.
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About the author
To sign up to Liam’s latest Oxford United newsletter for free, click here: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/newsletters/
Formerly the politics reporter for the Oxford Mail, Liam now covers all things Oxford United.
Liam attends the U’s home and away, as well as covering other big sports stories across the county.
His Oxford United newsletter is released every Saturday morning at 6am.
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