I was thinking about this earlier.
Back in the Conference, League 2 and to an extent League 1, for many clubs coming to Oxford it was a trip to one of the bigger clubs. The whole ‘you've only got 3 stands’ was much less of of an issue or something to beat or mock us with. We were seen as a scalp and players often raised their game against us. The unloved Kassam Stadium did us little favour.
This season the 3 stands is mentioned far more often, not just from opposing fans, but also in the media and pundits. It’s a stick to beat us with, a thing to mock us.
But perhaps as
@holdsteady says, not having a West Stand is actually sort of working to our favour for the first time. We are seen as a small club in the Championship and the incomplete stadium adds to that persona. Despite what opposition managers say we are being underestimated, and opposition fans have that same sense of entitlement as we had in the Conference.
Yes we’ve started the season well, better than most of us could have hoped for, and huge credit to the players and management for that. However it does feel a bit as if the Norwich, Preston and Stoke players have turned up expecting to win. Long may that attitude from away sides continue, because we’ve got a squad of players to take advantage.