Oxford United manager Karl Robinson is prepared to miss a game in the final stages of the season, but it's for the greater good of the side.

Robinson has seen his side climb up the table in recent weeks with a series of victories, leaving them nine clear of the bottom four with five matches left to play.

It's a position of relative safety, and that's prompted the former MK Dons boss to plan ahead.

He's revealed that in the pursuit of players next season, he might be prepared to miss one of their final matches to go on a scouting mission. Now the club are all-but safe, Robinson can make the crucial decisions needed for next season.

“It does allow us to make earlier decisions and even for me to get to games that I wouldn’t necessarily have gone to," he told the Banbury Cake.

“We have Faz and Shaun here who can take games. If it was something where we were going to spend some money or be really aggressive in the transfer market, there’s big decisions to be made internally."

Robinson revealed that the decision lies with him, but admits that after demanding more responsibility, he has to do the leg work as well.

“If I have to make a decision and it falls on my shoulders – I’m asking for more responsibility in the transfer market, like I did in January – then I have to do the dirty work as well by getting out there and making decisions for the club.”

The U's have home games against Wimbledon, Charlton and Doncaster left to play, with trips to Shrewsbury and Luton completing their fixtures.

The Verdict

Whatever the need, it seems very odd that a manager would leave his side to go scouting. Does it suggest a lack of trust in his scouts?

There's plenty of video analysis of matches now, complete games are available to managers. This seems like a stunt more than anything.

His job is to manage the side, everything else comes second.

Thoughts? Let us know!