JOHN Mousinho has challenged his Oxford United teammates to take a golden opportunity by discovering a new level of consistency in the next few days.

The first back-to-back victories of the Sky Bet League One campaign came at just the right time to get out of the bottom four.

It sends United into a huge eight-day period where they play three relegation rivals, starting with a visit to Gillingham tomorrow.

Stringing good results together has been problematic this term, but Mousinho knows if the side can stretch their run then drop fears would recede rapidly.

“I think the squad get it – we’re in a perilous situation,” the U’s skipper said.

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“More importantly, we can drag this down to the last day of the season, or we can have it done and dusted in five or six games.

“This week is a big one and this is where we’ve not been able to produce.

“We’ve not been able to follow good results with good results.

“Now we’ve got three teams in and around us, two big away games and then a home game against Bradford.

“It’s not going to be the be-all and end-all.

“If we don’t get the results we want we’ve still got plenty of games, but if we do I think we’re very close to really taking ourselves out of it and enjoying the last part of the season.”

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And when it comes to performing with style, Mousinho is more than happy to put those thoughts on the back burner after hard-fought wins against Blackpool and Scunthorpe United.

He said: “I think the Oxford fans and the chairman would rather stay in the league with gutsy performances and we can build on that in pre-season.

“Now’s the time to not think about playing scintillating football.

“When you’re going away to Gillingham and Rochdale and a tough home game with Bradford really the only important thing is the result.”

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Boss Karl Robinson has been mixing up the routine to keep the squad fresh.

After taking them boxing last week, the players went into Oxford on Tuesday.

Mousinho said: “We had a walk around the city.

“That’s one of the things that’s weird about being here is the training ground and the stadium aren’t in the city centre, so I think some players never actually set foot in the city itself.

“That’s something the club will hopefully work on, because I don’t think the connection is quite there with the city.

“It was good for the lads.”