Oakley on Southampton return

Former Saint Matt Oakley will return to Southampton today with Derby County.

Oakley was with Southampton for 12 years, making over 300 appearances, but signed for the Championship leaders during the summer.

Speaking in the Derby local paper Oakley said: 'It`s going to be a strange one for me, I was at Southampton from 15-years-old until the summer.

'I wanted to stay and they offered me another contract, but I could just sense that things were changing down there.

'George Burley came in and wanted to do his thing, and I just decided it was time to try something else.

'Billy Davies offered me the chance to come to Derby and captain the side and, when I heard that, there was no other choice for me. I had one conversation with him and that was enough.'

'This is a game Southampton have to win. If they want to catch us, they`ve got to beat us.

'If we beat them, it`s another one out of the way. Then the games start running out and they`re looking at us to slip up.

'But at the moment, it feels like we`re just ticking games off.



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