Shrewsbury Town manager Micky Mellon called his team's 2-0 win over Oxford "the perfect late Christmas present".
Town took over at the top of Sky Bet League 2 from Wycombe, who they face next.James Collins' 11th goal of the season in the 13th minute, and a far-post header from Mark Ellis in the 18th minute, gave the Shrews an early 2-0 lead.
And they were barely troubled after that, cruising to a comfortable win which might have been more emphatic had they converted further good chances.
Mellon said: "We're delighted to be top, of course, though we won't get carried away by it, because there are an awful lot of points to play for.
"It was the manner of the performance that was so satisfying, though. It was like the perfect late Christmas present.
"To put in a performance like that at a place that's never easy to come to, and against a team that has been putting decent results together, is very pleasing.
"We came out of the traps very, very quickly and I do believe that the sacrifices we made on Christmas Day, by coming in and training, paid off.
"Mark Ellis is so good in the air and when the ball goes into either box, you know he will represent you properly.
"In the second half we saw it through, we knew we didn't have to get a third goal to win the game.
"If I'm being picky, we could probably have had a couple more goals with one against the bar, and other chances, but to get a 2-0 win and a clean sheet is great.
"It's nice to be top but we've now got a tough game against Wycombe. Those are the kinds of games you want to be involved in, top versus second, and there's a massive three points at stake."