Oxford United welcome Crewe Alexandra to the Kassam Stadium tomorrow night with boss Karl Robinson looking for his side to be more clinical in front of goal
The U’s created chance after chance at Gillingham on Saturday but lost out 3-1 and will now look to get back on track when they welcome the Gills.
“I believe we had 23 shots inside the box and the closest other team to us in the league was 14, and they scored four” Karl told iFollow. “So maybe it just wasn’t our day! But that doesn’t mean it will be the same on Tuesday night. We are getting consistent performance levels now and if we keep playing like that then results will come.
“We have lost three times this season which isn’t ideal, but we are in a new cycle and maybe the expectations were high even though we had a lot of new players and have had a lot of injuries to deal with.
“Alex Gorrin for example has been unavailable all season but Liam Kelly has been one of our best players. Now we have them both competing for one position. Certain games will call for different skill sets.
“We have conceded too many goals, I know that, but look at the injuries we have had - Rob Atkinson has been out, Sean Clare was injured, Ruffs has missed games, Mous is still unavailable. If you are looking for consistency in the back four then you’re not going to find it yet because we haven’t had players fit so far. But I know we will get better and I am seeing signs every week of us improving all the time.”
United put that improvement on the line against a newly promoted Crewe side after the original game was called off at short notice
“The first game doesn’t enter into our thoughts too much” Karl said. “We have the same respect for Crewe as we have for every team we play. The intensity and the preparation can't get any higher. This group is a very honest group and they put everything they have into every game. Hopefully that gets us all three points on Tuesday.”
See the full interview in iFollow, including Karl’s injury update on Sam Winnall and Rob Atkinson plus his thoughts on James Henry’s performances.
Then CLICK HERE to see the whole game live in iFollow with kick off at 7pm.