DES Buckingham has called for Oxford United fans to play their part in what is set to be a huge week for the club.

The U’s are currently sixth in Sky Bet League One, and two points clear of nearest play-off hopeful, Lincoln City.

However, United face a tricky upcoming run which sees them welcome Peterborough United, Lincoln and Stevenage to Grenoble Road within a six-day period.

That spell gets underway this afternoon when the Posh visit the Kassam Stadium, fresh from their EFL Trophy success at Wembley on Sunday, and a 3-0 win at home to Port Vale on Wednesday night.

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U’s head coach Buckingham is hoping to harness the support from the home crowd across all three games, building on their last home performance, when they beat Fleetwood Town 4-0 on Easter Monday.

He said: “We saw the impact of it in the last home game. We’ve spoken about giving the fans something to cheer about and get behind us for, and obviously goals and good performances will do that.

“There will be times in games where momentum isn’t with us and times when things aren’t going the way we want. They’re the moments where the fans can play a massive role.

“We’ll do our best to deliver and give them something to cheer for, but when things aren’t quite going our way, or maybe the way that the fans want, that’s the moment where they can play their part, and really get behind us to get the game back in our favour. We’ve seen that numerous times this year.”

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United centre back Ciaron Brown also reckons that having three of their remaining four fixtures on home soil could be crucial for the side’s play-off aspirations.

The Northern Ireland international said: “Having three home games against big opposition is very important.

“It’s nice to have it at home, where you’re not travelling and you can have all the fans behind you, cheering you on and being that 12th man.

“It’s nice being in a comfortable area because everyone loves playing at home, and going away from home is never going to be easy for an away team.”

After this afternoon’s match against the Posh, the U’s host Lincoln on Tuesday night, before Stevenage are the visitors on Friday evening, with that clash to be televised live on Sky Sports.

So far this season, United’s home record in League One has seen them win 10 and draw six of their 20 clashes on home soil.