Oxford City Manager Sam Cox has said that the Hoops have no time to feel sorry for themselves, as his side prepare for a tough trip to Kidderminster Harriers in Vanarama National League North.

The busy Bank Holiday schedule means that City won’t have long to dwell on Saturday’s defeat to South Shields. The Hoops will kick-off at Aggborough Stadium just 48 hours after their last match.

Moreover, the task ahead is one of the toughest in the division. City fans will be familiar with the Harriers’ quality after last season’s clashes in the fifth tier and their early season form.

Speaking after Saturday’s match with South Shields, Cox said: “We have to draw a line under today’s performance as soon as possible.

“We need to gear towards Kidderminster, a team who have just come down from the National League.

“We know they’ve got a fantastic squad and they’re coming into the match on the back of a defeat to Warrington, so they’ll be at it.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to bounce back in a great stadium in front of raucous support.

“We need to show what we’re made of because, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve had some good performances but results need to improve.

 “We’ll look to rectify that on Monday. We’ve got no time to feel sorry for ourselves; it’s back to work.”

The quick turnaround in fixtures is a problem that all 72 teams in the National League’s three divisions will have to face.

Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp would wince at the sight of two matches within 48 hours. Perhaps they’re right?

Nevertheless, it’s something that Cox will be trying to manage as soon as possible when it comes to team selection.

“We try to be strategic in terms of managing players over these two days.” He continued.

“Players are returning from injury and were cramping up at the end of the game. For us, it’s about managing those boys who have just come back from injury.

“We have to identify the players that we think give us the best chance of getting us a result against Kidderminster and we’re sure we’ll get 100% from everyone, which is what we always try to do.”