OXFORD United dropped to the bottom of the table – but boss Karl Robinson thought the point at Southend United was a step in the right direction.

The U’s deservedly earned a share of the spoils in a scrappy 0-0 draw at Roots Hall.

And they could have nicked a victory their second half performance arguably deserved, but John Mousinho’s stoppage-time header was saved by Mark Oxley.

While it was a good point against an in-form Southend side, the mood was changed by news from Devon – Plymouth Argyle’s 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon seeing the U’s slip to the foot of the Sky Bet League One standings.

But Robinson was undeterred by his side’s position.

He said: “It’s not something that overly bothers me. I don’t like it, but you can’t let someone’s results affect you.

“My players should not be where they are, their performances again today were impeccable.”

Jamie Mackie and Ricky Holmes missed chances for United, but Mousinho’s late header was their only effort on target all afternoon.

It further demonstrated the visitors’ shortfalls in the final third, but Robinson was encouraged by his side’s improved performance.

He said: “We don’t get too excited, because last time we did this (a 0-0 draw at Wycombe) we went on a four-game run where we couldn’t get anything.

“I think we’ve seen a change over the last few weeks.

“Our performances have been good, we just don’t get the results we deserve and that is something we’ve got to make sure we capitalise on.”

Robinson added: “The fans have seen players who wore their hearts on their sleeves, but we’re not going to sing from the roof tops.

“I’ve said to them in there, we should have got more than we did against Wycombe and we praised them that day.

“I’ve just had a bit of a go at them in the changing room, expecting a bit more.”

United’s recent poor form has been riddled with individual errors.

While the performance on Saturday was not perfect, the U’s stuck to their task and earned only their second clean sheet in the league.

Robinson added: “I said to the players before I don’t mind the mistakes that you make and let’s be honest, we’re only where we are because of one or two individual errors that have cost us.

“It’s not because of the way we play, or how we work, or how much dedication we put in, just silly little errors.

“But I said to them just deal with the mistake in the correct manner – if you make one, get your mate out of it. “Today the big difference was that when we made an error they did not capitalise on the two opportunities they had.

“But we had a number of chances to score more goals than them.”