OXFORD United have no choice but to get up to speed quickly against Bristol Rovers, admits Karl Robinson.

The U’s 11-day break without a game is due to end at the Kassam Stadium tomorrow, as they take on a side who have barely stopped in the last fortnight.

United’s Papa John’s Trophy victory over Cambridge United has been their only outing since January 2, while Rovers have played four times in that time.

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Although his side are nine games unbeaten and five places above tomorrow’s opponents, who sit 19th, Robinson knows it is inevitable the visitors will have more match practice.

The U’s head coach said: “We know that Bristol Rovers are a good side and very difficult to play against.

“Having not played for a while, there will be an element of rustiness.

“You saw that at certain stages of the Cambridge game.

“We’ve got to find that rhythm very quickly.

“We have to be mindful of how we start the game, but equally find a control to our play that we had in the months previous to the break that we’ve had.”

“It’s no-one’s fault, it is what it is.

“We can’t have any excuses, other than the fact that we might not be as game-ready as the opposition.”

The postponement of last Saturday’s visit to Northampton Town has allowed United to rest ahead of a daunting run of fixtures, which could see them play twice every week until the end of March if they reach the semi-final of the Trophy.

While the break has been useful, the U’s have also needed to maintain a high intensity in training to prevent players losing their sharpness.

Many of Robinson’s likely starting XI against Rovers were rested for the Cambridge clash, with Jack Stevens, James Henry, Josh Ruffels, Matty Taylor and Rob Atkinson not appearing at all.

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After a manic first three months of the campaign, centre back Atkinson reveals going from two matches each week to none is challenging – mentally and physically.

He said: “Our match-sharpness might have dwindled a bit, but we’ve been doing plenty of 11v11 stuff in training.

“We’ve been keeping that competitiveness up.

“Mentally it’s challenging too, because when you’re in that Saturday-Tuesday routine you get it in your head and your body adjusts to it.

“It seems like we’ve been going from that to a long pause.

“It’s tough, but we’ve got used to that because we’ve done it so often.”