JAMES Henry believes Oxford United can be the real deal this season if they keep working hard.

A superb run was extended on Saturday with a 3-0 home win over Doncaster Rovers which moved Karl Robinson’s side up to eighth – just two points off third place.

Henry, who scored twice, knows exactly what it takes to challenge for promotion, having played in Millwall, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bolton Wanderers squads who went up from the third tier.

And while it is still early, the midfielder is seeing good signs.

“Having been in successful teams, I feel like we can do something this year,” Henry said.

IN PICTURES: Oxford United v Doncaster

“I think everyone has seen, it’s not been over one or two games, it’s been six, seven, eight games now where we’ve performed consistently.

“We’ve got to keep that going, there’s a lot more games to go and if the season finished today we wouldn’t be happy because we’re not up there.

“But we can’t rest on any laurels. We’ve got to keep working hard in training, keep performing.

“It’s hard to do that over a season and there will be dips in form.

“I think we’ve clicked, but at the same time we can’t come off it.

“That’s the worst way to look at it sometimes, that when things are going well you slightly come off it and think you’ve done it.

“But jeez, what are we, 12 games into the season? It’s nowhere near over.

“We have to stay positive and keep believing we can be successful.”

United have bagged 20 goals in their last six games, but had to be patient against Doncaster.

READ MORE: Oxford were too strong for us, admits Doncaster boss

It took until stoppage time in the first half before Henry opened the scoring with a deflected effort from outside the penalty area.

He said: “I hit it as well I probably could have done. I thought it was going in the top corner, but they all count.

“We were creating chances and didn’t really look like conceding.

“We had one moment where I gave the ball away, but apart from that we hadn’t given them anything, so to get the goal before half-time was vital.”

Tariqe Fosu was another strong performer and the winger felt it was a significant outcome.

He said: “This was a massive game, so to win it 3-0 is a great result.

“Before the game it was probably one of the biggest, because we were on the same points.

“But we were very confident before the game and did well.”