JOHN Mousinho admitted Oxford United’s latest loss in Sky Bet League One was the hardest to take in their wretched start to the campaign.

The performance in last night’s 3-2 defeat to Accrington Stanley contained encouraging signs going forward and the U’s went ahead for the first time in the league thanks to stylish finishes from Gavin Whyte and Marcus Browne.

But despite changing three-quarters of the back four, their defence continued to leak goals and the visitors twice levelled before Billy Kee’s penalty won the game.

Mousinho, one of those brought into the U’s back line in the wake of the 4-1 defeat at Portsmouth on Saturday, was in no doubt this result stung much more than the previous three.

“Definitely, this is a sickening one,” he said. “I don’t know if it was because of the hope we built up in the first half and the way we came into the game with a positive mindset, which was difficult after Saturday.

“But that really is a blow. When you go to Barnsley and lose 4-0 you hold your hands up and go ‘they were miles better than us’, but here I don’t think there’s any way we should be losing the game.”

The home fans had responded to calls from United before the game to remain positive, but there were boos from some sections of the home fans at the final whistle.

Mousinho said: “If I was an Oxford fan I’d be thinking ‘what’s going on, even when we perform well we can’t get a point out of it’.

“They’ve got every right to question what’s going on and we’re questioning ourselves in there.

“It’s sometimes hard to realise how much it hurts players, but I can promise you it’s a very quiet dressing room.”

Accrington boss John Coleman admitted United “could and should have got something out of the game”.

And opposite number Karl Robinson, who has cancelled the squad’s day off today as a result of the defeat, felt his side were hard done by.

He said: “The results aren’t good enough, but I’m telling the facts, not opinion.

“The facts are we deserved to win, we did more than the opposition to win. That’s frustrating.”

He added: “The players are devastated. They’re on the floor, but we have to pick them up and go again.

“We’re in tomorrow and we have to go again.”