JAMES Constable is expecting a barrage of abuse from Swindon Town fans tonight - after turning down the club when he played for their great rivals Oxford United.

Swindon agreed terms with Oxford after their first offer for Constable was rejected in January 2012 - but the striker rejected the opportunity to join Paolo Di Canio’s side.

At the time, he tweeted: “I have never asked to speak to Swindon. . .This has been one of the toughest days I have had in my career, never wanted to leave the football club, it means everything to me.”

A few months earlier, Di Canio had taunted Oxford by saying: “He’s a big Swindon fan through and through - the Oxford fans know it. He has pace, he is tall, he can score with both feet and his physical presence is massive.

“It would be good to bring him here but I don’t think Oxford will let him go, especially with the rivalry.”

A few days after those comments, Constable stunned Swindon with a brace of goals in a 2-1 win at the County Ground. Two months after turning down the Robins, Constable was sent off in the 11th minute of the return fixture.

But he also finished on the winning side in his only other game against Swindon, a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie four years ago.

“We beat them every time I played against them,” he said. “The stuff that went on at Oxford,with them trying to sign me, adds a bit to it. It was not something that interested me. I was happy at Oxford and was captain at the time. I’m glad I stayed for a few more years before coming here.

“Having spent six years at Oxford I got to know the rivalry and how much it means to the fans - they don’t get on at all! I got a bit of stick every time I played against them and I’m sure it won’t be any different on Friday - but I’ll be focused on the task in hand.

“Since Di Canio was there there have been a lot of changes but we’ve seen a lot of videos of how they play and will try and make it as difficult as we can for them.”

Constable scored 104 goals in 228 starts for Oxford and has registered 36 from 91 in his two-and-a-half years at the Silverlake Stadium. But he has not had as happy a time of it this year. Yet to score in 17 appearances this season, including 12 starts, he missed last week’s defeat at Barrow after being knocked out towards the end of Eastleigh’s last home game, a 3-0 win against Torquay ten days ago.

Still sporting a bruised cheekbone, he continued: “I’m happy to be back for such a massive game. We’ve prepared well and we’re looking forward to it. Playing an FA Cup tie on a Friday night on the TV is why you get involved in football.”

Constable’s 16 goals last season included one in the 2-0 FA Cup second round win at Stourbridge. “Last year really set the club up, the publicity was fantastic. If we can do that again it would be a great boost for us and the club as a whole.The downside was the pitch, the amount of games meant it didn’t have time to recover. But it’s looking in better nick this year and hopefully that will continue.”