Steve Bruce says he must continue to roll with the punches as Newcastle United boss.
His team were booed off after their stalemate with Norwich City in the Premier League on Saturday night, but they are still in better shape in terms of points than this time last season.
The last thing Bruce now needs is an FA Cup exit ahead of their winter break.
Defeat would leave fans stewing for two weeks and Bruce was asked whether this season is a pivotal period of the season.
Bruce said: “I seem to have pivotal weeks every week - every week is one.
“It goes up and down here.
“It could be a good week, before the break if we can get into the fifth round and have 31 points then we will all accept that.
“In difficult circumstances over the last month or so we have shown a certain amount of resilience to get this far.”
Bruce’s players were criticised for a lack of potency in the final third against the Canaries.
But he tried to lift spirits at the club’s Benton base on Monday morning.
Bruce added: “We dust ourselves down and get ready for the cup tie. It is a great opportunity, that has not changed.
“We will get ready for Oxford and treat them with the respect they deserve.”
The replay cuts short what should be a long rest for his players.
Bruce added: “All of us would have liked to give every team a bit of time off, that’s the whole idea of this break.
“It is not as long as I would like to give them because we didn’t get the job done against Oxford in the first place.
“But they will have a long weekend, that’s what we get for not winning the first one.”
