Boss Darren Patterson has rejected any notion that Oxford United's remaining games this season are meaningless because they have little chance of going up or down.

He says United's players are playing for their futures - and that's why he expects there to be plenty of hunger on the pitch when they take on Histon at the Kassam Stadium today.

It will be a new-look team to many supporters with recent captures Adam Murray, Michael Howard, Justin Richards, Matt Green and Michael Blackwood in the starting line-up.

Patterson is pleased with how quickly the new signings have blended in with the players already here, and for a great many they have much to prove.

"I'm absolutely delighted with the the lad," he said.

"Two of them have only played a couple of games and a couple of them look as though they've been here for a couple of years, which is terrific.

"And the biggest thing is that a lot of them are on short-term deals, so they need to earn contracts.

"Yes, we want them to be here, but if it's not here it's got to be somewhere else, so everybody's got a lot to play for until the end of the season.

Craig McAllister is still missing, with his hamstring injury. But the U's have had a boost with Matt Green recovering well from the hamstring injury which kept him out of training at the start of this week.

Patterson added: "There's been a bit of a curse with injuries, and with luck.

"Even in the game this week, although it was a friendly.

"I've never seen anything like it. We had one goal, two cleared off the line, the ball hits the bar, hits the line, comes out, and we had plenty of missed sitters.

Patterson added: "The new players have added competition to the squad. There was a lot of what I called a comfort zone at this football club because of how well the players are treated.

"I think the players that are coming in are all hungry, and determined not only to do it for this club, but to prove themselves.

"That rubs off on people, but they're also good lads, proper pros and I've got to say, it will help that some of them are more experienced because we've got a lot of young boys here.

Oxford Utd: (from) Turley, Clarke, Quinn, Foster, Howard, Odubade, Murray, Trainer, Blackwood, Green, Richards, Hutchinson, Anaclet, Warrell, Day, Rose, Fisher, Ledgister, Pettefer, Taylor.

Histon: (from) Naisbitt, Pope, Ad, Mitchell-King, Gwilliam, Okay, Cambridge, J Kennedy, Barker, Murray, Wright, N Kennedy, Nightingale, Langston, Haniver, Key.