Even if they don’t make it up this season, Chris Wilder wants Oxford United to produce a lot more performances like that at Woking in the future.

The U’s players kept their focus throughout Monday’s 2-0 win, something they need to display more often on their travels to remain successful.

And Wilder didn’t mind that it wasn’t as flamboyant as some of their recent away victories.

“It was not a spectacular performance, but we were solid and disciplined, and didn’t give anything away,” he said.

“Our away record at the turn of the year was horrendous, and again we’ve come away and won.”

The contrast from the first half of the season is massive.

Under Darren Patterson, the U’s won two, drew two and lost nine of their 13 away games in league and cups this season before he was dismissed the day after the club’s exit from the FA Cup at the end of Nov-ember.

Caretaker manager Jim Smith immediately inspired a dramatic improvement, but Wilder has taken that on in dramatic fashion.

After defeat in his opening away game, at Salisbury on Boxing Day when he had little time to prepare his players and they also lost Sam Deering with a broken leg, he has overseen a nine-game unbeaten run away from home this year, which has included five wins.

Oxford top the Blue Square Premier form table and need to pull off their best away success of the season by winning their last game on their travels at league leaders Burton on Friday to have any chance of reaching the play-offs.

Even then it might not be enough because rivals Kidderminster and Stevenage have kept winning.

And Histon too look likely to finish with more points than Oxford, as they still have very winnable home games to come, against Ebbsfleet and Weymouth.

Burton need just a point to wrap up the title, but after failing to get it at Kidderminster on Easter Monday, when they led at half-time, but lost 2-1, they might be nervous in the Setanta-screened encounter.

For if they lose to Oxford, they could face a tense final game at Torquay, who may also need the points to guarantee a play-off place.

Wilder said: “I should imagine it will be an open game on Friday. Burton will have to go for it, and we’ll go for it.

“We need to be good, we need to play well, we know that, but we go into the last two games of the season still alive, and that’s all we can ask for.”

Wilder is making sure his players get the recovery time they need at the end of a long season, and after two games in three days over Easter.

“There’s no point dragging them in every day,” he said.

“It’s important that they get a lot of rest so their energy levels are high for Friday night.”