Martin predicts a 'massive' test against Oxford

Dons boss Russell Martin is expecting Oxford United to stick to their guns against Dons this Saturday at the Kassam Stadium.

The U’s are third in the table, and have won five in a row heading into the game.

Managed by former Dons boss Karl Robinson, Martin says Oxford stick to their philosophy irrespective of their opposition.

He said: “We’ve watched a lot of their games, Manchester City and Newcastle, Premier League opposition and they still play exactly the same way. I’ve got a lot of respect for that.

“But we have to go there and try and impose ourselves, play our game. I’m really looking forward to it. We’re taking a lot of fans there too so it should be a good atmosphere.”

Dons were winners when the sides met back in December when they were in the relegation zone.

Since then, Dons had moved 11 points clear of the drop, but Tranmere’s successive wins have seen the gap reduced to five points this week. After picking up a point from their last three games, Martin knows how big Saturday’s clash will be.

He continued: “It’s massive. They’re a really good team that will remember when they came here, when they fully expected to win.

“It will be tougher at their place, they’re very good at home. “It will be a totally different game there.

“They’re fighting for promotion, and we’re fighting to stay in the league.

“The manager knows the club well, he’ll have watched us, he’ll be aware of our threats. But we’re going there trying to win.

“We’ve worked really hard so far. We’re not going to stray from what we’re doing, we’ll tweak things away from home, how we’ll press, but we will only get better at what we’re doing.”