KARL Robinson has put his finger on where things have gone wrong for Oxford United, and former club MK Dons, so far this season.

The teams sit 15th and 22nd respectively in Sky Bet League One, as the table continues to take shape with eight games played.

The turnaround in form is perhaps more shocking for a Dons side which finished third in League One last season, losing out in the play-off semi-finals to Wycombe Wanderers.

Robinson, who spent more than six years with MK Dons when he began his managerial career, pinpointed the problems facing both clubs this campaign.

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Five loan players returned to their parent clubs from MK Dons at the end of last season, including the likes of West Ham United’s Conor Coventry and Tottenham Hotspur striker Troy Parrott, while midfielder David Kasumu joined Huddersfield Town in the Championship.

Coventry started every one of the 22 games he was available for after arriving in January, while the highly rated Parrott was involved in 17 goals in 47 games, also winning the club’s goal of the season award.

U’s boss Robinson said: “You’ve got two teams who were flying high last season and haven’t hit those heights yet.

“What you are seeing is the two most productive transfer teams in League One going toe to toe.

“There’s a reason why there’s a drop-off one year and an increase the following year.

“We’ve lost players through injury, they’ve lost players through trading, but that’s their model. It’s very similar to ours as well.

“It’s hard to find that consistency and replace players who cost £2 or 3 million – you don’t buy them for £2 million, you buy them for £100,000 and you have to get them to that level over a period of time.

“Liam [Manning, MK Dons head coach] did an incredible job last year with that team and he’ll do exactly the same with this team, because he’s a fantastic coach and a good man.

“These two teams are almost a shadow of themselves when they were at their best, due to injuries, trading and components sometimes taken out of the football club’s hands.

“We know it’s going to be a difficult game, we know we’re going to have to be disciplined, and we’ll do our damnedest to do that.”

Given his links to the club, coming up against the Dons is always a family affair for Robinson, as the United head coach explained.

“I think I’m so institutionalised within them, I’m still hated for it by other fans,” he said.

“Everyone knows how much I love the club, my daughter works there now so that’s even more surreal seeing her wearing the MK Dons training kit going into work.

“Liam’s a really good man and the chairman is someone I respect, he gave me my first opportunity.

“All their staff are good people and the fans have always been very good with me.

“It’s always a game I look forward to, even the MK Dons fans know how much I love winning.

“My family always come to this game, for obvious reasons, so I’m really looking forward to the game.”