DES Buckingham will not look at what might’ve been for Oxford United, ahead of Matty Taylor potentially making his return to Grenoble Road this weekend.

Taylor was out of contract with the U’ at the end of last season, and was not offered a new deal by the club.

He netted 64 times for his hometown side, with only eight players scoring more goals for United in the club’s history.

Following his summer exit, Taylor joined Sky Bet League Two outfit Forest Green Rovers, where he scored twice in 17 league appearances, although 12 of those were as a substitute.

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He marked a return to third tier football on January deadline day, when he signed for Cheltenham Town.

Taylor has found form with the Robins, netting four goals in eight games, however a hamstring injury suffered in midweek could rule him out against the U’s.

United head coach Buckingham said: “I coached Matty Taylor when I was here, and taught him at the college. Matty and myself go back a long way.

“It’s a change there for him, and it’s nice to see him still playing, but hopefully he doesn’t play too well if he plays against us at the weekend.”

He added: “Matty was in the youth team here and came through the academy, or the centre of excellence as it was at the time.

“He didn’t get offered a scholarship and went to do a college programme for two years, and then came back and signed a one-year professional deal when he was 17.

“After the disappointment of missing out on a scholarship, he went again, he went professional, and has forged a very good career for himself.

“He works extremely hard, he scores goals out of nothing sometimes, and he’s certainly one of the best finishers inside the penalty box that I’ve ever worked with.”

Following Taylor’s U’s exit, the club brought in Mark Harris after his departure from Championship side Cardiff City.

Asked whether he would’ve kept hold of Taylor in the summer, Buckingham said: “That’s a big hypothetical. I think the club moved very quickly to bring Mark Harris in, and he’s been a wonderful addition to us with the goals that he’s scored so far.

“I’ll stick with Mark Harris for now, but we’re looking forward rather than what might’ve been.”

In addition to Taylor potentially playing against his former side, United striker Will Goodwin finds himself in a similar position after joining the U’s from the Robins in January.

Buckingham said: “We’ve brought Will in, and he’s done well. He had that injury which kept him out for three or four weeks.

“He brings a little bit of inside knowledge maybe from their camp. We haven’t delved too much into that because you never know what they’re going to do. You don’t know what players they’re going to have or if they’re going to change the system.

“What we have focused on is what we want to do, and that’s what we’ve spent most of our week doing this week.”