KARL Robinson says Oxford United ‘cannot stand still’ as they ramp up preparations for next season.

Last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Rotherham United means the U’s are guaranteed to play in Sky Bet League One in 2022/23.

United end the season against Doncaster Rovers at the Kassam Stadium this Saturday, at which point there will be just 13 weeks until the new campaign begins.

READ MORE: Five things that hampered Oxford United's play-off push

Planning for next term is already well under way and Robinson knows the U’s must move quickly as they seek to build a squad capable of challenging for promotion again.

United’s head coach said: “The big thing for me and the board members is not to stand still.

“We can’t sit back and take things on the chin.

“It’s about making sure that we’re more aggressive in so many ways to make sure we have that power, pace and consistency that we maybe lack at certain stages.

“You’ve got to make sure that you do the right things.

“It’s now ultra-aggressive, no time to rest.

“We’ll have our holidays but between now and then it’s about being ultra-aggressive in the transfer market, really homing in on what you want and not hanging around.”

United’s play-off challenge ended in the penultimate game of the season, despite beating last year’s points tally of 74 with two matches to spare.

An ultra-competitive League One promotion race meant they would have been outsiders to finish in the top six even if they had beaten Rotherham, with one team likely to miss out with 80 points or more.

It is a frustrating way to end the campaign, particularly after United reached the play-offs in the previous two years.

The U’s have at least improved their points tally season-on-season and will need to do so again, with the League One line-up expected to be just as strong in 2022/23.

Question marks hang over the futures of several players, with eight members of the first-team squad out of contract this summer.

Equally, the U’s boss knows where he wants to bolster his ranks and plans to start discussions with transfer targets at the earliest opportunity.

He said: “Respectfully, if we’re allowed to speak to the player.

“Until the season finishes that can’t be the case, but as soon as it is we’ll make sure we try to do the right things and bring in players that make us better next season.”