OXFORD United will need to show plenty of northern grit when they host Oldham Athletic in a crunch clash tomorrow, says Todd Kane.

Victory for the hosts at the Kassam Stadium would take the U’s to within sight of Sky Bet League One safety with six games still to play.

But a ninth defeat in 13 games would leave Karl Robinson’s side vulnerable, with Oldham drawing level with them on points.

Kane is well aware of the high stakes and believes it will be a game for putting bodies on the line.

The Chelsea loanee said: “Everybody knows exactly what this game means on Saturday – it’s not rocket science.

“Whether we’re good or bad, we need to find a way to win.

“Being a northern side they will be wanting to fight and scrap.

“We are going to have to roll our sleeves up and have a bit of pride about yourself.

“If there’s a 50/50 header you have to be prepared to go in 100 per cent and come out with the ball.”

Kane’s previous loan spells include Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers and the 24-year-old reckons there is a geographical divide.

He said: “I believe it is, from my experiences playing against teams from up the north.

“When I was up north on a Tuesday night you used to get told ‘they don’t want it because they’re from down south’.”

One area in which Robinson wants to see an improvement is players being more willing to take shots.

Midfielder Ryan Ledson agrees United need to take more risks in the final third.

He said: “We do try to score the perfect goal.

“You think back at games where we played brilliant football, but we concede goals that are scrappy.

“They go in off someone’s knee and we think ‘how’s that happened?’ but it’s what we need to start doing.

“We need to start getting crosses into the box, we need to get men in there and start scoring some scrappy goals.

“We’re trying to score Championship and Premier League goals instead of a League One side.

“We definitely need to have a go from outside the box.

“The likes of James Henry and Joe (Rothwell) have brilliant shots on them.”