ROB Dickie hailed Oxford United’s grit as they dug in to claim a point at Bristol Rovers which the defender admitted they would probably not have claimed earlier in the season.

The goalless draw at the Memorial Stadium is unlikely to live too long in the memory, but it did extend the U’s unbeaten run to three games.

Crucially, all of those have featured a clean sheet – the first time they have strung together three in a row in the same season for 18 months.

While United were the better side before the break, Rovers looked far more dangerous in the second half.

And Dickie knows they have folded in similar environments this term.

He said: “I feel that not too long ago we might have lost that.

“I think it shows how far we’ve come as a group and I think it’s something we can be proud of.

“I thought we played really well in the first half. We created a lot of chances and the second half was more about digging in.

“We can all admit it wasn’t the prettiest of performances in the second half, but we got the job done and kept the clean sheet.

“No-one likes to be down there and we’re not happy to still be there, but we can only keep fighting and sticking together.

“I think the last three games have been more promising, so hopefully we can keep going.”

The closest Rovers came was a Tom Nichols header which Simon Eastwood managed to divert on to the bar with his left leg.

And having the goalkeeper back after two months out has been a big boost, according to Dickie.

The centre back said: “Easty’s brilliant and gives you a lot of confidence having him behind you. We’re over the moon to have him back.”

Following on from the news Jon Obika was ruled out for the season with a knee injury, Shandon Baptiste was rushed to hospital with a suspected dislocated shoulder.

The midfielder had suffered a similar problem during training last week and more should be known about the length of his lay-off today.