Head coach Grant McCann praised the match-winning contribution from Keane Lewis-Potter after his goals earned top-of-the-table Hull a 2-0 victory at home to Oxford.

Lewis-Potter was a threat from kick-off and deservedly scored twice for his hometown club, who are now six points clear of their Sky Bet League One rivals.

McCann said: “I thought he was excellent. He started really brightly and played really, really well.

“When Keano’s playing with that confidence it’s great to see.

“When I left him out against Bristol Rovers I always had in the back of my mind that this game would be good for him – to freshen him up and bring him back in.

“He’s gone up a notch – he really has. And he really has done well. He caused (Anthony) Forde lots of problems of all game and I’m really, really pleased with Keane’s performance.

“He’s done really well and has ran himself into the ground.”

Hull deserved to win their fifth game on the bounce, but they were up against it in the early throes of the game as Oxford went for the jugular.

Dan Agyei was especially impressive in the first half and gave the hosts plenty to think about with his craft and speed.

But after having subdued Oxford’s early enterprise, the home side showed professionalism and a touch of class to score the opening goal after 22 minutes.

Lewis-Potter deftly controlled Lewie Coyle’s raking, cross-field pass before guiding the ball into the right corner.

Oxford continued to catch the eye on the break, but they never seriously threatened after the opener and fell further behind when Lewis-Potter’s central attempt was deflected over goalkeeper Jack Stevens.

McCann said: “It was another good performance and another win. I couldn’t be more pleased since we lost at Ipswich.

“I’ve always been calm. Maybe they only person who doesn’t see myself being calm is my wife when we lose.

“We know this has been the season of all seasons, and I don’t think people understand how relentless it’s been for the players.

“But we can now give them a bit of a breather as we don’t have a game in midweek, which will be good.

“All we can do is focus on our own job. If we can continue to show the calmness and maturity that we’ve shown here, then we’ve put ourselves in a good position (to get promoted).

“We’ve played the most games in the division, and it’s put is in a position where we can give the boys a little bit of a break.

“It’s been a mammoth effort from everyone involved. I thought we showed a calmness and maturity against a good Oxford side.

“I thought we broke with real venom and pace at times. Being a bit critical, we could have had more than two goals but we’ll take a 2-0 win and move on to the next one.

“There’s still 10 games to go. All we can do is focus on our own performances. We’ve got to keep this level of consistency going.”

Counterpart Karl Robinson accepted that scoring goals is becoming a difficulty in Oxford’s quest for the play-offs.

He said: “I’m really proud of the players – they gave me everything.

“For 60 minutes. we were arguably the better ream, but we have to take our chances.

“I felt that in that first 30 minutes we missed a number of chances. For large parts, we dominated the game and hurt them, But for the last 35 minutes we were dominated.

I think it’s not a lack of confidence (scoring goals) because they care so much, but it’s not just about the strikers.”

Robinson added: “We’ve definitely got to find ways of scoring goals in the middle of the pitch.

“Having said all that, I can’t question the players’ attitude. This was probably a step too far, but in in the first 30 minutes we were the better team.”