DESPITE not being in the mix for the play-offs on the final day of the season today, Karl Robinson and Sam Long say they are content with Oxford United’s point tally this campaign.

The 2-1 defeat at Rotherham United last weekend ended hopes of a top six finish, even with an impressive points total so far.

On 75 points going into the final fixture of the campaign, at home to Doncaster Rovers this afternoon, the U’s have surpassed their total of 74 points, which was enough to sneak them into sixth last season.

In fact, 75 points would’ve been enough to make the play-offs every year since the 2009/10 campaign, barring the 2019/20 season which was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

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The last time a haul of more than 75 points didn’t get a team a play-off spot was Huddersfield Town, who finished sixth with 80 points in 2010.

With that in mind, Robinson says he would’ve taken a hypothetical points collection of 78, providing United beat Doncaster today.

The U’s boss said: “At no stage of this week have we accepted the consequences of the weekend, but it is what it is.

“We can’t control other people’s superior points tally, that’s out of our control.

“At the beginning of the season, if someone had said 78 points you would have said that’s much better than last year.

“Everyone thought with the league being really competitive that top line would be a bit lower.

“No-one expected it to be higher, but that’s what it is, we can’t dance around that.

“We fell short of the play-offs, it’s a disappointing situation for us but we have to accept that.”

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Long highlighted an even more competitive Sky Bet League One than usual this campaign, with other pre-season favourites for promotion such as Portsmouth, Bolton Wanderers and Ipswich Town further behind United.

Lincoln City meanwhile, who were beaten 2-1 in the play-off final by Blackpool last season, are 18th in the table and just nine points above the relegation zone.

“We would probably have taken 78 points at the start of the year,” said Long.

“Ninety-nine times out of 100 you get into the play-offs, but this year it’s been ultra competitive in League One and a lot of teams have been putting their numbers up as well.

“We’ve been the team to miss out recently, but if you look at it on the whole, we’ve probably been better this year than the last two years and we’ve missed out.

“You could say it’s a bit harsh but that’s football and you need to accept it.”

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Conceivably, either Plymouth Argyle or Wycombe Wanderers could finish on 83 points and miss out on the play-offs entirely.

Long said it would be ‘crazy’ for either of those sides to miss out on the top six with those points totals.

“It’s really frustrating that we’re not in that mix going into the final game – that excitement, that buzz that we could get in,” he said.

“Eighty-three points is crazy if someone misses out on that.

“We’re thinking 78 points is crazy, another five points on top of that just shows how competitive League One is and how many consistent sides there are in the division.”