OXFORD United may have fallen short of promotion, but Karl Robinson believes last season has done the club’s reputation the power of good.

The head coach is busy attempting to convince transfer targets to join for another crack at getting out of Sky Bet League One next season.

And compared to his task last summer, when the U’s were coming off the back of a campaign where they had been battling relegation, convincing players will require less of a leap of faith.

Aside from the simple fact they finished fourth in the final standings, the side caught the eye on multiple fronts.

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Playing a stylish brand of football, Robinson’s side enjoyed runs in the Emirates FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

It brought four games against Premier League opposition, in which they held their own – beating West Ham 4-0, drawing at Newcastle United before losing the replay in extra time and going down 3-1 to Manchester City.

And Robinson believes results like those will not have gone unnoticed throughout the game.

“We’ve got memories that can last a long time in our lives that we can look back on from the last year and be immensely proud of,” he said.

“I think we’ve certainly put our name on the footballing map now.

“I think if you spoke to most neutral fans they would know about our style and what we believe in.

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“We’ve made an awful lot of friends in the north east.

“Arguably the greatest manager in the land (Pep Guardiola) knows about us, we’ve played them twice now.

“West Ham we have a great relationship with after bringing in players from there – although I don’t think we’ve got a great relationship with their fans after the result we had against them.”

United have brought in Joel Cooper from Linfield so far this summer.

Time is of the essence as they look to strengthen the squad further, with a vote on the introduction of a salary cap in the English Football League scheduled for next week.

If it does come in, the wages of anyone who signs after the vote will count in full, while higher earners already on the books will not be taken into account in the same way.