Joe Bennett and Alex Gorrin hoping to get longer deal at Oxford United

Both players signed deals with United mid-season, in order to plug gaps in the U’s squad.

Gorrin signed a short-term contract in October, while fellow midfielder Cameron Brannagan was unavailable due to illness.

Left back Bennett joined United on November 30, with the club acting swiftly in the free agent market to minimise the impact of losing Greg Leigh, who picked up a calf injury while on international duty with Jamaica.

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Asked whether conversations had taken place with the pair, regarding their futures beyond the expiration of their short-term deals in January, U’s head coach Des Buckingham said the hectic run of games over Christmas will allow time to examine the players in greater detail.

Speaking prior to the 3-0 win against Burton Albion, Buckingham said: “Nothing has happened with either of them yet. The Christmas period is going to give us a good chance to look at both of them.

“We brought him [Bennett] in as cover for Greg, while Greg is out, so we don’t want him to break.

“We need to give him a fair amount of time to build himself up, to be able to perform the way we need him to.

“He’s now at that stage and that will give us other options in those spaces, and then we can see both him and Alex will get opportunities to see how they perform, and then we can make decisions on them both come January.”

Buckingham worked with Gorrin when they were both at Wellington Phoenix, with United’s boss well aware of the qualities on and off the pitch that the midfielder can bring to the squad.

“I’ve known Alex for a long time. He used to annoy me as a young man in Wellington, when we’d arrive at 7:30 in the morning, and he’d already be kicking a ball against the wall in the pre-activation room while we were trying to have a staff meeting,” said Buckingham.

“I had the pleasure of working with him for three years before he came over here, so it’s nice to connect with him again, but it’s about making sure he does what he needs to do to, and puts himself in the best position to push on for another contract here.”

Gorrin remained with the U’s after his previous contract expired in the summer, having been invited to stay with the club in order to continue his rehab and work his way back to full fitness.

He suffered a knee injury during training last December, while he also missed a large chunk of the 2021/22 campaign after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to his other knee during an Emirates FA Cup tie against Bristol Rovers in November 2021.

Gorrin has played three times since returning in October, while Bennett has made four appearances.