KARL Robinson is expecting a different Exeter City side to the one put to the sword by Oxford United six weeks ago.

United won 4-2 in Devon on October 15, in a dominant display.

The U’s were 3-0 up at half-time and added a fourth goal nine minutes into the second half.

Matt Taylor had left as Grecians boss, to take the manager’s position at Sky Bet Championship side Rotherham United, just 11 days before the sides met.

Since then, former Celtic and Scotland defender Gary Caldwell has been appointed manager at Exeter.

He has overseen two wins from five in all competitions, including a 3-2 victory at home to high-flying Peterborough United.

Robinson said: “They’ve played some really competitive games since we played them, they beat Fleetwood after us and went on a half decent run.

“They’ve played some difficult teams and been very competitive.

“Since Gary’s gone in, he’s done a wonderful job at keeping that momentum and keeping them in that top half of the table.

“We know how hard it’s going to be – some of their players are very well looked at by other teams.

“We know it’s going to be a very difficult and competitive game, and to get a result, we’re going to have to be better than what we were down at their place.

“We know what we have to do and how professional we have to be.

“We know we have to be together and make sure we press in the right angles, and we have to make sure we’re ruthless on the turnover.”

Caldwell led Wigan Athletic to promotion from the third tier in 2016, and on the impact Caldwell has had at Exeter, Robinson said: “Gary’s been successful at this level, the coaches have stayed there and do a wonderful job.

“His experience and where he’s been – he’s a top guy as well, he’s very calm.

“I know the players will respect him and I know he’ll make them competitive.”

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Victory at the Kassam Stadium tomorrow will ensure United reach the third round of the Emirates FA Cup, and a potential tie against a Premier League side.

“It’s always nice to get into the third round of the FA Cup because you just don’t know,” said Robinson.

“Everyone’s hopes and dreams if you manage to get into that third round, is a draw that everybody probably does look at, even in the midst of the World Cup.

“It will be nice to make sure we do get through to the third round and make sure we get an opportunity against one of the big boys, just to put ourselves back on the map again and that gives us a little bit of confidence moving forward in the league.”

The U’s squad has enjoyed a couple of days off this week, with no midweek action.

“We sit in a very competitive position, I have an internal target going into the turn of the season, where I’d like us to be off the back of a very poor start,” said Robinson.

“We’re still on course to make sure we can achieve that.

“The reset button has been important, the players have been brilliant and trained really hard when they have been in.

“Sometimes that refresh button doesn’t always instinctively come in the next game, it’s about further on down the line.”