Oxford United defender Shaunna Jenkins has credited the club's decision to keep the majority of last season's squad together as a key factor behind the U's winning start to the League One campaign.

Speaking to BBC Radio Oxford, Jenkins was emphatic about the benefit of familiarity within the group: "Keeping the majority of the players from last season has been a massive bonus for us," she said, pointing to the understanding that builds when a settled group of players continue to work with one another over an extended period.

Why continuity matters in League One

In a division where squads are routinely reshaped every summer, clubs that manage to hold on to their core personnel often carry a significant advantage into the opening weeks of a new season. There is no warm-up period required to learn a team-mate's movement, preferred foot or pressing trigger; those habits are already embedded from the previous campaign.

Oxford have clearly sought to protect that familiarity at the Kassam Stadium. While the transfer window inevitably brings some movement at every club, the U's appear to have prioritised stability, and Jenkins suggests the players themselves are feeling the benefit of that approach from the first whistle of the new season.

Squad cohesion, sometimes called "team familiarity" in analytical circles, is the degree to which players understand and anticipate each other's decisions without needing to think consciously about them. It tends to show up most clearly in high-pressure moments, when there is no time to communicate and a player simply has to trust that a team-mate will be in the right position. A group that has played together through a full season of League One football will have banked dozens of those moments.

A winning start and a test ahead

Oxford's encouraging beginning to the season gives the continuity argument some early statistical backing. Jenkins was speaking ahead of the U's next match against Plymouth, a fixture that will offer another measure of how the returning core is performing under competitive pressure.

The confidence in Jenkins's voice is notable given the broader context at the club. Oxford have faced their share of challenges in recent months, including a period operating under a transfer embargo, which may have made retaining existing players less a strategic preference and more a practical necessity. Whatever the reasons, the outcome, according to Jenkins, has been a positive one for the dressing room.

"Keeping the majority of the players" is not a phrase that tends to make headlines the way a marquee signing does, but in League One, where margins between a top-six finish and a mid-table trudge can be razor-thin, that kind of internal continuity is precisely the sort of detail that decides where a club ends up in May.

Looking ahead

Oxford will be keen to build on their promising opening and extend their run when they face Plymouth. A continuation of their winning form would put down a firm marker in the early-season table and give further weight to Jenkins's belief that this squad, held together from the previous campaign, has the foundations to mount a serious challenge in the third tier.

For supporters who have watched this group develop over the past year, Jenkins's words will resonate. Familiarity between players does not guarantee results, but it gives a manager a platform to work from, and right now Oxford appear to be making the most of theirs.

Frequently asked

Why have Oxford United kept most of their squad from last season?
Defender Shaunna Jenkins says retaining the majority of last season's players has been a big advantage, giving the squad familiarity and understanding that has contributed to a winning start to the League One season. Oxford also operated under a transfer embargo, which limited incomings.
Who is Shaunna Jenkins at Oxford United?
Shaunna Jenkins is a defender at Oxford United who has been speaking publicly about the squad's preparations and the benefits of keeping a settled group of players together heading into the new League One campaign.
Who are Oxford United playing next?
According to the BBC Radio Oxford interview with Shaunna Jenkins, Oxford United's next fixture is against Plymouth.