OXFORD United will round off a frantic week when they head south-west for tomorrow’s Sky Bet League Two clash against Exeter City.

And for head coach Michael Appleton, it is the ideal opportunity to put their midweek exploits behind them.

United’s last eight days have been particularly taxing.

Transfer deadline day came between an Emirates FA Cup defeat against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and a 2-1 aggregate victory over Millwall in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy area final on Tuesday.

And the U’s had another fixture 24 hours later, when a youthful side beat Ardley United 3-0 in the quarter-finals of the Oxfordshire Senior Cup.

Sitting third in the table, the U’s have put themselves in a strong position ahead of the remaining 19 games.

And a trip to Exeter, Appleton says, is the perfect antidote to any cup hangovers.

“In a way I am glad that we have got an away game,” he commented.

“I think the players will need a come-down and an understanding of getting back to basics and I think Exeter will certainly be that.

“The amount of games will make it very easy to not think too much about the Wembley final.

“We have got a very important fixture congestion that we need to take care of.”

Monday’s dealings saw forward Chris Maguire arrive until the end of the season and winger Zeli Ismail on a month’s loan.

Danny Rose left the club by mutual consent before signing for Northampton Town, while striker Patrick Hoban joined Stevenage on loan for a month.

And Appleton declared himself pleased with his dealings.

“I thought it was good,” he said.

“It went better than I probably could have imagined.

“Obviously, Chris we are more than aware of.

"Certainly I am delighted to get his services until the end of the season.

“And we have got Zeli as well, who needs a lot of game time and work in between the matches.

“If we can get him as many minutes as we can, I am convinced he will be a fantastic initial impact player and then hopefully one we can see from the start.

“If he can get a real run in the team he could be a gem, there is no doubt about that.”

There was also the positive news with United retaining the services of all their key players.

Appleton added: “What you find with most clubs is they want you to make the first move and have the first conversation about what a certain player’s worth is.

“We are not prepared to do that because we do not want to sell.

“We had one offer, but it was not for one of the players people were speaking about.”