KARL Robinson insists Oxford United’s play-off hopes are very much alive as they head into the final five games of the season.

The U’s suffered back-to-back defeats against Plymouth Argyle and Morecambe this week as they fell from fifth to eighth in Sky Bet League One.

It leaves them three points off the top six ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash against seventh-placed Sunderland at the Kassam Stadium.

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The Black Cats have a game in hand on United, who need a win to put their promotion dream back on track.

And Robinson pointed to last season’s late run to the play-offs as evidence that there are more twists and turns to come.

“We’ve got 15 points to play for, this is far from over and we’ll go again on Saturday,” United’s head coach said.

“We’ve still got five games to go, that’s the big thing.

“We work in blocks and we haven’t won the first game in any (since the turn of the year).

“You almost look at it with a wry smile and know we will have another chance.

“This is not the end of it, I remember speaking at AFC Wimbledon last season and we thought that was the end.”

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Last April’s 2-1 defeat at Plough Lane left United a point shy of the play-offs with three matches remaining, when the teams above them had two games in hand.

But as their rivals faltered, they won their remaining games to gatecrash the top six.

This week, it was United who dropped points thanks to two damaging defeats in four days.

Robinson accepts fans will be frustrated, but issued a rallying cry ahead of a clash that is set to bring in the biggest home crowd of the season.

He said: “These players give everything every time they go on the pitch.

“They’re going to lose games, they’re going to make mistakes, we’re human beings.

“Look after them, protect them, get behind them and give them what they need.”

Robinson pointed to the loss of Sam Baldock, who sustained a knee injury against Burton Albion on March 5 after scoring four goals in seven games.

He said: “Sam Baldock’s been a big loss, since he’s been out of the team we’ve looked a little bit stuttering at certain stages.

“We’ve had that bit of bad luck, but my players will fight like anything.”

Oxford Mail:

Sam Baldock scored four goals in seven games before his injury Picture: David Fleming

Baldock formed a prolific partnership with Matty Taylor, the pair scoring eight goals in the four matches they started together.

The No 9 took his tally to 22 for the season at Morecambe and knows United cannot dwell on losing players to injury.

Taylor said: “He’s an unbelievable player, he’s had an unbelievable career and he’s still got plenty of years left in him.

“It was disappointing to lose him and I enjoy playing football with him, but I enjoy playing with all the lads.

“You can’t be downbeat, if we feel sorry for ourselves we’re going to lose the next one.”

He added: “We’ve got to take it game by game and try to get the points total that gets us in the play-offs.

“There’s nothing more we can do than keep winning games and see where we end up.”