KARL Robinson says Oxford United will not get a better chance to win promotion than this season if they fail to build properly.

The head coach admits he feels “embarrassed” by Monday’s Sky Bet League One play-off final defeat to Wycombe Wanderers.

Pain from Wembley has not subsided at all, but with only three weeks until pre-season, attention has to switch to the next campaign.

Within minutes of the final whistle Robinson was talking about needing to speak to the club’s board about which direction they want to go.

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While there has been contact this week, the head coach stressed the key will be in what happens next.

He said: “People keep saying ‘is that the best opportunity (for promotion) Oxford will ever have?’

“In my view, no – if we build properly. Yes – if we don’t.”

He added: “For me and where I go they are decisions I still can’t make now, but you have to plan for the future, always.

“You’ve got to make sure the club is in a place where it can’t go backwards, that’s got to be the message to everyone.

“We can’t get loose with recruitment, sports science, analysis, the academy, the training ground, or the desire to build a stadium.

“It has to be stronger than ever before.”

It is a strong stance to take, but Robinson insists he feels he has the support of the board.

The head coach is just desperate to make sure Wembley was the start, rather than the end, of something.

To do that will require learning from the experiences of the past 12 months, which essentially boils down to recruitment and retention.

Robinson said: “It seems to me there’s a long-term plan.

“I see building and Oxford United’s growth within the community and the football world.”

“(But) we can’t have another year where we sell players in January, that can’t happen.

“There are things we’ve learned from this year, can we make them better?

“If we’re going to sell do we do it now so you have enough time to build? We don’t leave ourselves struggling to fill voids.”

He added: “I owed Oxford United for two reasons – giving me the opportunity to come home to my family every night and for sticking with me in the bad times last season.

“There are so many things I owe to this club and then the support I’ve seen this year for this team has been quite

mind-blowing.

“I want to be in the Championship, but equally I want to be at home as often as I can.

“That’s as basic as the answer gets.”