NATHANIEL Knight-Percival does not expect any City hangover lingering from their first loss of the campaign.

Tonight's home clash with Southend offers the opportunity of immediate redemption for Stuart McCall's side – and Knight-Percival is confident they are capable of grasping it.

The central defender has quickly emerged as one of the coolest customers in McCall's squad and he insists nobody will be getting too hot under the collar over the Oxford setback.

Knight-Percival said: "These things happen in football. Everyone's lost a game before, so we're not going to treat it like the end of the world.

"Conceding a goal at such a late moment in the game is always disappointing. But we'll pick ourselves up and it's about how we respond against Southend now.

"It's nice to have a game come round so quickly for us after a loss because you've got the opportunity to put it right.

"We'll gather ourselves up and bounce back. The lads are a confident bunch and we've got good players."

Matt Kilgallon is set to replace the injured James Meredith at left back and Knight-Percival sees the former Blackburn defender's inclusion as proof of the strong resources at McCall's disposal.

HE SAID: "It doesn't matter if you get an injury because we're confident in all the players that we have. We've probably got two teams of XI that can be very competitive in this league.

"The people who are on our bench would be starting in every other team, without a shadow of a doubt. That shows how much strength and depth we have."

Saturday's last-gasp loss at the Kassam Stadium ended the club-record 12-match unbeaten start but City are still second in League One.

While heads were predictably down after the game, Knight-Percival was encouraged by another solid performance – but they paid the price for failing to convert some great scoring opportunities, including a missed penalty.

The defender said: "We did have a few chances but it's one of those things. You don't score every time you have an opportunity.

"I've got a lot of confidence in our front players, just as much as the ones at the back. It was just disappointing to see that late goal go in.

"We've played well and created chances. You're always going to come under pressure away from home and we did.

"We weathered the majority of it and it was just one free-kick right at the end that cost us."

Southend's win over Chesterfield lifted them out of the bottom four. They have claimed only four points on the road but that included a 3-0 victory at Sheffield United, who are next up at City on Saturday.

Knight-Percival is relishing the prospect of this week's home double header and the spotlight that comes with it.

"People come to Valley Parade and they know there's going to be big crowds and a lot of expectation," he said.

"But that goes hand in hand with playing for such a big club. We know what to expect and we're going to go out there and play to our best.

"We have been doing that for our first 13 games. I don't think anyone could say we played terribly at Oxford just because we lost."