AFTER experiencing what he described as the lowest point of his career on Saturday, Karl Robinson admits sitting down to figure out how to stop Manchester City was not the ideal way to unwind.

The Oxford United boss was dejected in the wake of the 2-1 defeat to Walsall, which kept his side near the foot of the Sky Bet League One table.

Robinson quickly turned his attention to tonight’s Carabao Cup tie, which did little to improve his headache.

He said: “Saturday night was probably the lowest point of my career. I’m embarrassed, that’s the top and bottom of it.

“When you get as low as I was on Saturday and you start watching videos of the team you’re playing next, it was almost like a sledgehammer hitting me.

“I thought ‘oh my lord, what am I going to do here?’”

Robinson believes he has come up with a game plan, but has experienced both sides of facing a Premier League giants.

His Milton Keynes Dons side thrashed Manchester United 4-0 in 2014, but the following season lost 6-0 to Southampton.

The U’s boss said: “You just never know in football.

“It’s one of the moments that you think you’ve got to be there in case something does happen that lives long in the memory.

“We all hold on to that, me included, that you can do something that’s probably a million to one to possibly do, but it’s the one you hold on to.

“I’ve played against some big teams before and even when you’re 3-0 up you think ‘we might get a draw here’.

“We’ll change systems and styles during the game, we’ll stay extremely compact like you have to when you play against these types of teams.”

United are coming under scrutiny for their league results, but Robinson sought to take the pressure off yesterday by making a change to the squad’s schedule.

He said: “I said to the players get out of the training ground and go to the nearest coffee shop as part of your recovery.

“They’d be going for a jog and a stretch anyway, so I told them to go for a walk.

“They’ll chew the fat together and I just wanted to see that unified group of people, even those who are injured.”

He added: “This game is an opportunity for us to have fun and take away the stresses and strains.”