Brian Talbot believes the time has come for Oxford United to try to stick with a settled side and system.

So it seems unlikely that he will revert to the three at the back, or three forwards formations he tried at times last month.

The U's boss plumped for a flat back four and 4-4-2 line-up in the FA Cup at Eastbourne at the weekend, and the team looked more solid than they have done in previous games, although goalscoring remains a problem.

Talbot said: "We have experi- mented with different things this season.

"Everyone knows I've been playing similar players most weeks, just changing the system with the players I've got.

"We're getting to a stage of the season, where I believe I know what my players are capable of, and what they're not capable of.

"I should know that after three months - and I've got to try and get a settled system to play the last 30 or so games of the season."

This means that Eric Sabin and Steve Basham, who scored a spectacular goal at Eastbourne, will probably get the opportunity to continue trying to forge a striking partnership.

He added: "November's an exciting month.

"We had an average October, in November there's three league games, and now three big cup games, with an opportunity for us to get ourselves into the next round of both the FA Cup and the LDV Vans Trophy."

Talbot and the players went for a day at Warwick Races last Monday and he said that, had they got through their tricky first-round hurdle at Priory Lane, that might be something they try before every round.

"We're trying to do something once a month.

"The team spirit here is very good, everyone's pulling in the right direction, we're trying our best to have a togetherness about the place, and we know we'd like to do a bit better on the pitch.

"We've done OK, but my ambition and the players' ambition is to get in that top seven. We're still determined to do that."

Talbot is eager for his players to put thoughts of the FA Cup on the back burner for a few days to focus on their League Two match at home to Denis Smith's Wrexham on Saturday.

"It'll be a hard game. We've got to do get three points, because we've only got one point in our last three league games."