OXFORD United will be hoping for a far better result tomorrow compared to the last time Wigan Athletic visited the Kassam Stadium.

The U’s were thumped 7-0 in December 2017 as Will Grigg scored a hat-trick, in a season the visitors went on to top the league.

Josh Ruffels has more reason than most to banish the memories of that day, as he played for over an hour in the humiliation.

The left back said the crushing defeat was one of the worst games he’d been involved in.

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“It was a tough one, it wasn’t an enjoyable day – it was probably one of the worst games I’ve played in,” he said.

“They had a very strong side that season and we know they’re still a really difficult opponent.

“When we played them at their place, it wasn’t an easy game.

“They picked up a result on Tuesday, they’ve got results in them and they’ve got players than can get results.”

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Ruffels himself has been in a rich vein of form recently, seeing him nominated for the Sky Bet League One player of the month award for January, after scoring three times and helping keep two clean sheets.

He put his successful adventures further up the pitch down to playing as a midfielder earlier in his career.

“Playing in midfield has helped, knowing when to go forward and when not to go forward,” he said.

“As a left back, it’s even more difficult because you’ve got a defensive role to do.

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“It comes with confidence and playing week in, week out can help a lot.

“Luckily I’ve been in the right positions and set pieces have played a massive part as well.

“We’ve worked really hard on them so it’s been really good for me.

“Mous [John Mousinho] has been great, we go through set pieces on a Friday really thoroughly.”

Meanwhile, Ruffels has also been boosted by the arrival of Joe Grayson on loan from Blackburn Rivers.

“Joe’s a young lad that’s coming through, he’s got great potential to do really well,” he said.

“It’s good to have someone come in and have that competition.”