SAM Long hopes he can help Oxford United end a four-game losing streak in what is set to be his 200th appearance for the club tomorrow.

If selected for the short trip to MK Dons, Long will become the fourth player currently at the club to hit that milestone, after Simon Eastwood, Cameron Brannagan and James Henry.

The achievement will be extra sweet though for Bicester-born Long, who having signed his first professional deal with United in 2013, is the club’s longest-serving player.

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He said: “It’s taken me a while, earlier on in my career I struggled a little bit with injuries, but it’s a very proud moment.

“It’s a great achievement for anyone at any club, especially your hometown club, it means a little bit more.

“It’s very special to get to 200 and hopefully there’ll be many more to come.”

As a senior figure in the squad, and with the U’s struggling for form, Long finds himself as a leadership figure in the dressing room.

He said: “It’s something I really enjoy, I’ve always been an older head on young shoulders but now I’m a senior pro in the dressing room.

“I like that responsibility and I’ll do everything I can to support the lads and help the lads.

“We need to stick together and fight as hard as we can to get them three points every game.

“There’s leaders who you wouldn’t even notice on a Saturday, there’s plenty of people in there that are able to motivate the lads and motivate the team when needed.

“I support Oxford and want us to win, we’re going through a bad patch at the moment and we all know that in the dressing room.

“We’re working really hard to put it right.”

Long is sympathetic to anger from supporters disappointed with recent results and how the season has panned out thus far.

He said: “We hear it and accept their frustrations, we completely get why they’re venting.

“They’ve got every right to, it’s their club and all they want is what’s best for the club.

“We just want to repay them with good results on the pitch and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

If United are to end their run of defeats, then they will have to get a result against an MK Dons side who have faced their own problems this season.

After reaching the play-offs in the last campaign, the Buckinghamshire side find themselves just a point above the drop zone in Sky Bet League One.

“They’ve got really talented players and if you look on paper, they’ve got a very strong team,” said Long.

“We’re going to have to be at our best to stop them and get the three points.

“They’ve not got a great home record but they’ll want to build a bit of momentum to get out of where they are.

“We’re in the same sort of situation where we’re off the back of four losses and want to put things right.

“We know we’re fully capable of putting a run together, we’ve done it in previous years.

“I don’t think it’s ever been a question of there being a divide, I don’t think there’s ever been that at this club while I’ve been here.”