• Sat. Dec 14th, 2024

Oxford United boss previews clash with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s Burton

Byoxfordnewspaper

Sep 3, 2022

KARL Robinson knows Burton Albion will fight to the end for his good friend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

The Brewers have endured a rotten start to the Sky Bet League One season and sit bottom of the table, with one point from six matches.

They took their frustrations out on Leicester City Under 21s on Tuesday, scoring four times in the first 12 minutes of their Papa John’s Trophy opener – although the Foxes pulled two goals back before the break as the game ended 4-2.

OPINION: Quiet deadline day ended unusual transfer window

Robinson can empathise with his counterpart after United’s own difficult start, but he is wary of a side that will be looking for a reaction at the Kassam Stadium tomorrow.

The U’s head coach said: “They’re having their problems as well.

“Jimmy’s a friend, we go into combat every time we play against each other.

“We’re good friends and he’s someone I respect – I know he’s got a tremendous fighting spirit and his team has that as well.

“You can see how they came out fighting on Tuesday night, I think they were 4-0 up in about 12 and a half minutes.

“That was a reaction to what happened the game before.

“You can certainly see a team that is fighting and doing everything right to be as successful as they possibly can this season.”

Burton have scored seven goals in League One so far this season, two more than United.

Their issues lie at the other end, with a whopping 18 conceded – six more than the next-leakiest defence, at Forest Green Rovers.

That will have United licking their lips after plundering 16 goals in their previous four matches against the Brewers.

READ MORE: Oxford United boss shares latest on Marcus Browne and Elliott Moore

The U’s hit five past Leyton Orient at Grenoble Road on Tuesday and Robinson expects United to receive a boost from their prolific midweek showing.

He said: “Everybody will look at us and say it’s a good time to play Oxford with the players we’ve got out injured.

“The players we have fit are still very competitive and very motivated to be successful.

“We’re equally as wounded as the opposition, because of the frustrations that lie within things that have been going against us.

“The positivity of scoring seven in the first part of the week (including two at Cheltenham Town last Saturday) has set us up for a game we’ll be incredibly positive about.”