THIS is not the first time Sam Winnall has been involved in a late bid for Sky Bet League One promotion.

The Oxford United striker was top scorer in the Barnsley side that were bottom of the table in early December 2015, only to finish sixth and go up via the play-offs following an incredible second half of the season.

It is a feat the U’s are seeking to emulate, having been in the relegation zone as recently as December 5.

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Barnsley were seventh at this stage in 2015/16, while United are one place better off with four matches remaining.

Their play-off rivals all have games in hand, but Winnall feels the U’s have the momentum after three wins in a row.

The 30-year-old said: “The year I went up with Barnsley we were in exactly the same position with four games to go.

“We’ve given ourselves a great chance.

“If you’d offered us sixth position after ten games we’d have snapped your hand off.

“If the other teams win every game then fair play to them, but all we can do is win our remaining four and see what happens from there.”

Winnall scored his fifth goal of the season to spark United’s comeback against Gillingham on Saturday.

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The U’s went 2-0 down with 18 minutes left, but the striker immediately halved the deficit and two late Sam Long strikes completed an incredible success.

Even after equalising, United continued to push for the winner that would send them into the top six for the first time this season.

Winnall said: “That’s a good sign, when you’re not satisfied with a point.

“If we’d come away with a 2-2 draw after being 2-0 down a lot of people would’ve said ‘it’s not the result we wanted, but we did show a lot of character’.

“It just shows what we want to achieve.”