KARL Robinson is excited for what lies ahead as Oxford United learn their fixtures for the new season.

The Sky Bet League One schedule for 2022/23 will be published at 9am today, giving fans, players and staff the chance to plot the campaign ahead.

Robinson is set to start what could be his fifth full season with United, despite being linked with moves to Hibernian and Queens Park Rangers over the summer.

READ MORE: Karl Robinson gives update on summer transfer business

But on the day players and staff fly out to Spain to start pre-season, the head coach insists he is as enthusiastic as ever about leading the U’s.

“I can’t wait,” he said.

“The level of competition in League One is phenomenal and we have to be better in every area of the football club.

“People were querying whether I was going to go. At no stage have I ever wanted to leave this club, this means the world to me.

“We’ve got a job to do over the next 12 months and that’s to get this football club in an even better position.

“I’m so proud of the points tally we achieved last year, I don’t see it as a failure.

“I’m really proud of the players and I’m sure this season there will be things that frustrate me and the fans, but we’re trying to build a team that’s stronger than ever before.”

Robinson was strongly linked with the manager’s job at Sky Bet Championship side QPR, at one point leading the betting.

Instead, he will be aiming to guide United into the second tier after three near-misses.

The U’s will need to hit the ground running if next season is anything like 2021/22, when a mammoth 83 points was the benchmark for a play-off place.

Robinson’s side managed 76 but still fell short, despite beating the tally they gained on the way to reaching the top six in the previous two campaigns.

READ MORE: Former Oxford United loanee joins League One rivals

The season kicks-off on the earlier date of Saturday, July 30, due to the winter World Cup in Qatar.

United will find out if they get a home match on the opening day for the first time since 2016, after beginning the campaign with away trips in the last five years.

In fact, the U’s have not started the season with a win since 2017, when they beat Oldham Athletic 2-0 at Boundary Park.

Alongside key dates such as Boxing Day, the Easter weekend and the final game of the campaign, United fans will be looking out for certain fixtures.

The U’s are set to face newly-relegated Derby County for the first time in 28 years. The teams have never met in the third tier.

Their closest opponent will once again be Wycombe Wanderers at a distance of less than 30 miles.