KARL Robinson was pleased to see a change of approach pay off against Cheltenham Town.

Oxford United were far from their best against the Robins and switched from 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 diamond formation midway through the second half, when they were 1-0 down.

It saw Gavin Whyte play behind Matty Taylor and fellow substitute Sam Winnall, with Cameron Brannagan and Mark Sykes pushing up from wide midfield positions.

RATINGS: Every Oxford United player marked out of 10

The latter grabbed United’s equaliser eight minutes from time to prevent only a third home defeat this season in Sky Bet League One.

“The positive thing I took is that we found a different way to get a result out of a game that was running away from us, through substitutions and shape change,” Robinson said.

“As a fan you look at it with frustration, because you expect a lot more than what you got.

“But as a manager, the subs and the tactical shape made a difference.

“Games turn when you do certain things to make you better and I felt the players did that.

“We showed tremendous desire to get back into it against a team that stop the game an awful lot.”

United started with the same front five in the same formation at Bolton Wanderers in August, when they played well but lost 2-1.

WATCH: Highlights of yesterday's game

Since then, they have occasionally switched to a diamond mid-game and the head coach feels it works well.

Robinson said: “We played this system at Bolton and I said it might come in handy, even off the back of a defeat.

“Gavin in that ‘10’ position has got a tremendous centre of gravity to change direction, so it becomes a real positive.

“With Sam and Matty not having the pace to stretch the game, the pace of Gavin getting beyond them gives you a different type of threat.

“Sam’s unbelievable in the air, so it gives us a different dimension.”