Oxford United welcome Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night looking to make it three wins in a row after beating AFC Wimbledon and Ipswich Town.
Boss Karl Robinson is under no illusions though: Accrington showed in the meeting back in October that they are a very dangerous side:
“Let’s not be mistaken: Accrington are a good side and John Coleman deserves every bit of credit he gets because year after year he gets every ounce of quality out of his players and they try to play” Karl told iFollow. “People look at the calendar and know that when they play Accrington it is going to be hard. We know that will be the case on Tuesday night.”
A year ago United headed for Accrington in trouble at the wrong end of the table, a night that Karl sees as pivotal in a remarkable 12 months for the U’s since then:
“That was the lowest point for me. Probably the turning point for us. We stayed over after the game and I remember sitting with all of the staff after the game and saying ‘this is us now’. We talked about things and it was quite relaxed and that fed into the players and from that day on we sort of found the players we wanted and how we wanted to play. We have gone on from there and I hope tomorrow night is another night where we all come away happy and heading in the right direction.
“These are two big games for us now. No game is ever won unless you put 100% effort in. Are we tired and fatigued? Yes. Have we played a lot of football? Yes. We have four players out through fatigue now: Mark Sykes, Nathan Holland and Anthony Forde are out after Saturday and they are big losses for us, but it gives ten men a chance to wear the yellow shirt and they should be proud to do that. I am sure they will take their chance and do well for us.
“We are breaking it down into three game blocks now and this is the start of a new one. The last one was good- could have been better- but we have to just stay calm and remember what it is we are trying to achieve. We have so much football to play and we have to be ready and raring to go.”
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