Oxford United boss lays down law after shock defeat (From Oxford Mail)

Oxford United boss lays down law after shock defeat

8:00am Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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Angry boss Chris Wilder says it’s now time for Oxford United to show what they’re made of after the team’s dismal display and shock 2-1 defeat by Hayes & Yeading.

Top scorer James Constable seems certain to return to the attack against Kettering at the Kassam Stadium in a game Wilder describes as “massive”.

The U's slipped to second in the Blue Square Premier and while new leaders Stevenage have been relentless in the number and manner of their wins recently, Oxford have stumbled and stuttered.

Wilder says he will not tolerate the way players seemed to think that they needed only to turn up to win.

“We had a bit of a blow at it for ten minutes when their boy got sent off, but that’s all it was really,” he said. “It wasn’t good enough – from back to front, from side to side.

“We were very poor mentally. You need to be mentally strong to get on the ball, not just when things are going right, but when things aren’t going well they need to show the same attributes and they didn’t do that.

“It’s something I won’t tolerate, whether we’re 15 points clear, ten points clear or one point behind.

“I’ve never been labelled as being arrogant or big-time as a player, and teams I’ve been involved with haven’t . . . they work for what they’ve got.”

United fans were dismayed by the performance, with part-timers Hayes deserving their victory, and there are worries that the cohesion and teamwork which marked some of the outstanding football in the first three months of the season has disappeared.

But Wilder says Oxford haven’t often lost back-to-back games, and they need to bounce back.

“We deserved everything we got on Tuesday. We deserved to be roundly criticised, the reaction from the supporters. We deserve what everybody has got to write about us, in the press and on message boards – and now we’ve got to show what we’re about.

“We need desperately to get a win on Saturday. It’s a massive game for us and they’ve got to show me they can handle it.”

* After talks between the two clubs, leaders Stevenage have agreed an extra 300 tickets for their clash with Oxford United at Broadhall Way on Tuesday, March 30. The U’s were originally allocated 1,400.

* Chester City, who began the season in the Blue Square Premier, have been wound up in the High Court, but a fans group have vowed to resurrect the club along the lines of AFC Wimbledon.