JAMES Constable says he can’t wait to do battle with his old Oxford United teammate Jack Midson in the Boxing Day clash against AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow Stadium (12.15pm).

Midson, 28, was part of the front-three that fired the U’s back into the Football League through the Blue Square Premier play-offs in 2010.

He joined the Dons in the summer after being given a free transfer, and has scored 11 goals in 22 appearances for Terry Brown’s side.

And Constable, United’s leading marksman in npower League Two, says he has a lot of respect for Midson’s scoring record.

“He has gone there and done really well,” said Constable. “And we’ll be desperate to keep him quiet and hopefully get some goals at the other end.

“We know his game and he’s a great finisher, so it will be difficult to combat that.

“We just have got to defend as we have done in previous games, especially Morecambe away. We were solid in defence and the same on Saturday.

“And if we perform like that then we will create chances for ourselves.”

Although he tops the U’s scoring charts with eight league goals, Constable has netted just once in his last seven appearances – with Oxford’s lone strike in the 4-1 defeat at Crawley – and he is determined to put it right against the Dons.

“Personally, I have hit a patch with no goals, so I’m desperate to get back to scoring ways,” said Constable.

“As a team, we have had a tough six weeks, with the results we have picked up.

“But with four points out of the last two games, I think we can look forward to the busy Christmas period with confidence.”

Constable felt Saturday’s 2-0 win against Northampton had been vital as they made it two games unbeaten following a winless run of seven matches.

“I think the Northampton game was always going to be tough because of the run we had been on and the position we had put ourselves in,” he added.

“I don’t know anybody who puts more pressure on themselves as a group of players and we were desperate to put it right on the pitch.

“I think maybe at times it showed when we gave the ball away. But it takes a lot of determination and spirit to keep going the way we did and to get three points.”