Boss Karl Robinson will look for his side to use Saturday’s defeat at home to Rotherham as motivation when they welcome Ipswich Town to the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday night.
“It was an uncharacteristic 40 minutes” he said after his side’s 3-1 defeat against the MIllers “but I thought we were far the better team in the second half.
“For me, we switched off but also credit to Rotherham. They won 3-1 and we have no gripes with that. I wish them all the best because Richie Barker is one of my best friends and Warney is one of the nicest men you’ll meet. They hit is on the break which we knew they could do and I am disappointed because I told the players that the way they might score was obvious.
“We had players doing uncharacteristic things that aren’t part of our system and got picked off because of that but you have to accept it and move forward. I was pleased that we got a reaction in the second half and took the game to them and the two players who came on, Nathan and Marcus, made a big impact and that’s important.
“We move on to Ipswich and the big thing is to try and capitalise on the game in hand that we have. Win and we’d probably go back to where we were before Saturday.
"You can’t be too down. Fans will be disappointed, as I am, but you can’t be too down. This run in will be about who copes with winning and losing in similar ways: take a win in your stride, take losing in your stride. Does today motivate you or demotivate you? Does it make you hungrier or less hungry?
“I know my players and this will make them hungrier and give them more desire for whatever this season throws at us in the next few months. It’s going to be a great run in and we’re all looking forward to it and looking forward to Tuesday night now.”
Get behind the U’s on Tuesday against Ipswich. Tickets are available from oufctickets.co.uk and from 01865 337533