THERE are generally two basic approaches ahead of big games – build them up as a cup final, or treat it like any other fixture.

Oxford United’s clash with Oldham Athletic feels hugely significant, but head coach Karl Robinson is taking the latter option.

“It would be a sad indictment of me if we saw this game as bigger than Shrewsbury on Monday,” he said.

“I would’ve let the fans down who travelled if I saw it as being bigger.

“If you can give any more for any particular match, it means you’ve disrespected the other games – and that should never be the case.”

Tomorrow’s game represents another fork in the road for a United side who have been unable to decisively climb clear of the relegation battle in recent weeks.

A victory would bring safety into sight, while three points for Oldham could bring the relegation zone to the U’s own doorstep.

The pressure is there, but Robinson, who gave the squad two days off after the Easter weekend, is looking to keep everything as relaxed as possible.

He said: “The only thing you can control is you’re physically ready to perform and you are tactically clued into what you need to do on that particular afternoon.

“Then you have to play with no emotion and a calmness that allows you to hit the heights.

“If you play with anxiety, tension and fear, I can almost guarantee you there will be a fall-off of performance, because we’ll make more and more mistakes.

“It’s all in the human psyche that tension and anxiety creates fear.

“As soon as fear starts hitting your body, everything becomes a lot more difficult.

“We have to keep ourselves fully focused on the job in hand and that’s to perform to the best of our ability at the weekend.”

Robinson believes the challenge facing United is not as severe as the one he faced 12 months ago at Charlton Athletic.

The Addicks were not safe until four wins and a draw in the final five games saw them sprint into the summer.

One approach which helped snap them out of a poor run was to begin training at the Valley, where they were struggling for results.

But it is not something which can be repeated at United, who are tenants at the Kassam Stadium.

Robinson said: “The fact we can’t train on our pitch isn’t great.

“(At Charlton) we got our mindset of changing in the dressing room and training on the pitch you’re going to play on.

“This club is miles behind that and these are small things we have to improve.

“We’ll do one of two things a little bit differently, just to change the psyche.”

He added: “There will be an air of anticipation and excitement.

“If you’re nervous it’s good, but equally go and play to the best of your ability and play free.”