FORMER Newport County AFC star Danny Rose is looking forward to welcoming some old friends to Oxford United tomorrow but he’s warned there’ll be no love-in once the game gets under way.

Rose was a fans’ favourite during his four years at Spytty Park before he departed for Fleetwood Town in January 2012.

But with Oxford in the League Two relegation zone after ten games Rose is intent on ending his former club’s seven-match unbeaten run in the league.

“I’m looking forward to coming up against an old club,” said the 26-year-old midfielder.

“There are still a few familiar faces there, although the team has obviously had a lot of ins and outs since I left.

“There are still a few friendly faces there that I worked with and I’m looking forward to shaking their hands before the game and then getting back to business.”

The two sides drew 0-0 at the Kassam Stadium last season and Rose is expecting another cagey affair tomorrow.

“They set up 3-5-2 and it was difficult to break them down,” he said.

“I remember us having a lot of the ball and they tried to hit us on the counter-attack.

“I expect it to be similar to that. Given the way we’re playing now we’re having much more of the ball, so it’s a case of taking the chances when we have them and being switched on defensively.”

Exiles boss Edinburgh, who sold Rose to Fleetwood, is also predicting a tough game despite the hosts’ poor start to the season.

“They made their managerial change just before the start of pre-season at a difficult time and I think they are going to start developing a little bit later than other teams pretty much like ourselves,” said Edinburgh.

“We’ve seen some footage of them and in the games we’ve seen they’ve certainly deserved better and a better points return than they’ve had.

“If anyone is rolling up there Saturday and thinking that we’re going there to collect three points then I think they should think again because it is certainly going to be a tough encounter there’s no doubt about that.

“I would say they are in a false position at this stage and we know how just one positive result can put a team on a good run,” he added.

“We certainly won’t go there underestimating them and we know if we are to leave with our unbeaten record intact then we will have to be at our best again.”