Oxford United winger Siriki Dembele has revealed that new boss Aaron Ramsey brought something of a 'culture shock' to the club with his intense training methods.
Ramsey has overseen a strong start to the season at the Kassam Stadium, with Oxford currently sitting seventh in League One following a run of seven games unbeaten. They have also only slipped to defeat once in their opening 10 matches.
A 'bit of an eye-opener'
Dembele, who has started every game under the former Arsenal midfielder, is one of those to have been impressed by what he has seen. The winger has scored two goals and earned three assists during what has been something of a personal renaissance.
Speaking about Ramsey's impact, he said: "I would say when they [the new management team] first came in, it was quite intense."
"It was a bit of an eye-opener, a bit of a culture shock. Yes, it was a bit different to what we were used to, let's say, but now we don't notice it because we're used to it."
Intensity at training
"But it was really intense at the start and I think that was always to get us ready for games and to be really fit and strong going into games. The intensity we're training at is just slightly different to how it was before."
This is Ramsey's first job as a coach in his own right since he took interim charge of hometown club Cardiff towards the end of the 2024/25 season, a spell that arguably served as something of an apprenticeship for his current role. Cardiff appointed the midfielder as successor to Omer Riza with three games remaining, but he was unable to prevent Cardiff slipping into League One.
