U's will come good - Cooper

7:53pm Sunday 7th September 2008

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Kettering manager Mark Cooper said he expected Oxford United and the other "big clubs" in the Blue Square Premier to mount a strong charge at some point in the season.

He admitted his surprise that Rushden, Oxford, Wrexham, Torquay and Stevenage are all in the bottom half of the table, but feels it is only a matter of time before they start to climb.

"Some have had a lot of injuries. When Oxford get their big players back they're going to be a force," he said.

Cooper was delighted by his team's battling qualities as they fought back to snatch a point thanks to Gareth Seddon's 90th-minute leveller.

"I'm over the moon that we're still undefeated and we want to carry it on," he said.

"I don't feel we snatched the equaliser, we deserved it. In the first half we were the better team. We competed well and stifled them.

"We gave them a ten-minute spell in the second half when we switched off a bit.

"Oxford's goal looked offside to me. Lee Harper made a marvellous save, and the lads are adamant that Yemi Odubade was in an offside position when he put it in.

"But we re-grouped and went for it at the end, with four up, and got that dramatic last-minute goal."

Kettering themselves look to have the qualities to remain in the top half of the table.

Cooper said: "We're fit, organised and competitive, and teams know they've been in a game when they've played against us."