THE blur of new signings this week might have been a distraction, but Oxford United’s next two games are too big to forget.

If Karl Robinson’s side can stay at the sharp end, you could make a case for every game between now and May being huge.

But even in that context, successive home matches against Sky Bet League One promotion rivals in the space of four days stands out.

Rotherham United tomorrow and Ipswich Town on Tuesday offer a mouth-watering double header.

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Robinson cannot wait, but was quick to play down the significance of the results – whichever way they fall.

“It’s a big week, but it’s not a defining one,” the head coach said.

“We’ve got to accept the challenges these games will throw at us and make sure we’re fully focused on that.

“We’re really looking forward to it.

“We won’t shrink. I think we’ve seen that in the big games.

“We won’t get carried away because the game’s against somebody in and around you.

“If you get dragged into that and you think you can put any more into this then you’ve cheated in the previous games.

“We’ve been very calm and it will be the same as any games we’ve had this season.”

The venue should give United plenty of cause for confidence.

In the last calendar year only two teams, Peterborough United and Burton Albion, have taken three points away from the Kassam Stadium.

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And if the form of 2019 continues into 2020, the U’s have every chance of putting together a promotion challenge which lasts.

Robinson said: “The place is a fortress at the moment.

“It’s electric and it won’t be anything else on Saturday and Tuesday.

“We’re really looking forward to being there, we had a great win last weekend there and we’ll do our best to be ultra-competitive.”

Attendances have been climbing, with three five-figure crowds in a row last month.

And after strengthening the squad this week, the U’s boss issued a rallying cry.

He said: “Come and support your team, get yourself in that stadium on Saturday and Tuesday to drive this team forward.

“I don’t care how much talent we have, we’re worthless without people.

“That’s the message – come and get behind this team.”

First up is a Rotherham side who are in the minority – they had an even better Christmas period than the U’s.

A ten-point haul saw the Millers climb into the top two in League One and they are sure to provide a stiff test.

United did emerge on top when the sides met in Yorkshire three months ago, but the 2-1 victory sealed by Matty Taylor’s header was extremely hard-fought.

Robinson said: “You’d argue it was one of our more celebrated wins because of the nature of it.

“We all spoke about how hard that was and how much it meant to us.

“It was a big question mark against this team about can we win that way? We did, which was fantastic.

“As difficult as it is for us, it will be difficult for them.”