MARQUEE off-season recruit Ash Robson is set to give York City Knights a timely boost as they seek a return to winning form - though it is unclear if he will go straight back in at full-back.

The Knights travel to Oxford on Sunday (2pm) looking to kickstart their stuttering League One campaign following the defeat to North Wales Crusaders 11 days ago.

And former Castleford ace Robson is in line for a recall having seemingly recovered quicker than initially anticipated from the quad strain suffered in the narrow win over South Wales on March 13.

In a boost to the pack, meanwhile, in-form prop Adam Robinson also looks likely to overcome the hamstring strain he picked up against North Wales in time to take his place on the bus.

Head coach James Ford, however, would not say whether a fit Robson would automatically take back his number one spot, given the form in his two-game absence of Hull KR dual-reg recruit Liam Harris.

"We're expecting Ash and Adam to take some part in training (tonight and tomorrow) and they will be in contention for selection," he said.

"We'll take a few factors into consideration, such as form of other players and availability. We'll first see how they train and how they respond."

When asked specifically about his headache over the full-back berth, Ford, hinting at a potential tweak to the line-up, said: "Liam's playing well but he's a player who can play full-back or half-back and Ash has versatility as well.

"That's a real positive for me at the moment. They've both showed lots of potential and ability and I'm confident whoever plays will play well for the team."

The Knights, knocked out of the League One Cup in the first round by North Wales, had last weekend off given it was quarter-finals day.

Both that opening-day extra-time loss and the more recent 26-22 defeat to the Crusaders were put into some perspective, though, by the Welshmen's 24-16 quarter-final victory over big-spending Newcastle on Sunday.

Minnows Oxford also gave York a warning for the weekend ahead by beating London Skolars 24-20 in another surprise, reaching the last four for the first time.

Gloucestershire All Golds also shocked Workington, suggesting the expansion clubs in League One are continuing to grow.

Ford said of his side's last performance: "I don't think we were too far away against North Wales - we did some really good things and built two commanding positions.

"We didn't take our opportunities and we didn't do one or two things as well as we should have.

"But also, of all the issues I'd raised with the match officials, they (refereeing chiefs) agreed I was right on a big percentage of them. I'm not saying we lost due to the officials but a bloke can't get half the things he's got wrong and have no impact on the game.

"We knew North Wales are a decent team and we knew it would be a tough, close game - history shows it is usually close between the sides. But even though we were a bit flat, I think we were good enough to win the game.

"The issues I raised with the match officials - if a few of those (decisions) had been made correctly, let alone the 12 or 13 that I'd identified and they agreed were wrong, we would have won the game."

* THE Knights will run a supporters' bus to Oxford on Sunday through partners York Pullman.

It will pick up from Bootham at 8.15am and Acomb at 8.30am, with seats priced £25. Each booking will also be entered into a raffle to win a signed ball.

To book, phone Anne at York Pullman on 01904 622992 between 8.30am to 5pm weekdays or via the on-call service for last-minute weekend bookings.