RYAN Clarke says that the win at Dagenham has given the whole Oxford United squad a huge lift.

But the U’s goalkeeper said that as much as he enjoyed the 1-0 victory, he would prefer it even more with a couple more goals on the board!

“It was good to get a clean sheet, but more importantly the win,” he said.

“The way we played was really positive. Even with five or ten minutes to go we were trying to get the second goal.

“We weren’t sitting back looking for a 1-0, we stayed on the front foot and on another day could have won that match three or four nil.”

United had only kept one clean sheet this season before Tuesday night’s victory and Clarke was forced to make two fine saves late on to ensure victory.

However, the No 1 played down the stops.

“That’s what I’m paid to do,” he said. “They put a few balls into the box and had a couple of headers towards the end, but they were at a decent height.

“Teams are going to have little spells against you and it’s a case of making sure you see them out.”

The 1-0 win was United’s first by that scoreline for 17 months, something Clarke puts down to the strength of the division.

“I think it shows that every team in this league is difficult to beat and they all give it a real go,” he said.

“We’re playing some great stuff at the moment and it was very nice to get that result – we will certainly take another ten 1-0 wins between now and the end of the season.

“Having said that, it would be a lot easier if we were 2-0 or 3-0 ahead!”