JAMES Constable believes Oxford United’s late win against Dagenham & Redbridge has given them a perfect springboard heading into the hectic festive period.

A run of four games in 12 days begins with a trip to York on Saturday and Chris Wilder’s men go into the busy programme top of Sky Bet League Two thanks to a late winner from Dave Kitson last weekend.

The 2-1 victory was thoroughly merited on the balance of play, but Constable feels the manner of the result provides an excellent launchpad for what is always a crucial phase of the season.

“We might look back and see this as a key result,” he said. “If we had got a point, it might have been disheartening going into what will be a difficult period.

“To get a goal so late gives you even more of a buzz and I think we deserved it.

“There are a lot of games in a short period of time now, so it will be hard on everybody that’s going to be up there challenging.”

United boss Wilder was glad to give his players some recovery time this week, but added: “We are not going to be taking our foot off the pedal. We will get the recovery and rest into the players.

“We will plan it, but we will make sure that we are fully focused on getting a positive result at York.”