Simon Eastwood has admitted Oxford United are in a relegation battle with success this season will be remaining in Sky Bet League One.

The U’s have picked up one point from the last possible 21 in a run of form that has seen them fall down to 17th in the table.

Karl Robinson’s men last picked up a victory against Ipswich Town on January 21, their only win in 2023.

This puts them just six points off the relegation places and having played more games than anyone below them apart from Forest Green Rovers who sit rock bottom.

Today (February 25), the Yellows face fellow strugglers Bristol Rovers who are currently six games without a win and sit one place above the U’s in the table.

A win would see either side break their winless streak and move away from the relegation zone.

U’s goalkeeper Eastwood said: “It is obviously struggling times at the moment.

“In pre-season, you look at the season ahead and you want promotion and playoffs.

“I think the reality now is staying in the league, from this moment on it will be successful if we stay in League One.

“We are in for a real battle, we are not too many points from the relegation zone.

“There are probably nine or ten teams that could be dragged into it.

“We don’t want to be too blasé about it and shrug it off.

“We need to get as many wins as we can as quickly as we can to pull ourselves out of this mess that we are in.”

Eastwood believes the players and staff now understand the seriousness of where they find themselves following last week’s loss to Cambridge United.

He said: “We know we are in for a relegation battle and the sooner we realise that, which I think we have as players and staff that, the better.

“I think there are a few in this squad that has got us out of this position before so we have a little bit of experience of what it takes to get ourselves out of it.

“It’s just about the players who haven’t been here before about standing up and being leaders in the dressing room.

“We know it’s going to be tough, we have been dragged down into it.”

The 33-year-old goalkeeper went on to describe the team as not being “as good as it thinks it is”.

He said: “I think it’s the reality of where we are.

“We are probably not as good as we think we are and the team isn’t as good as it thinks it is.

“It shows obviously by the league where it is.

“If you are going to Cambridge in a game you should be winning but didn’t, it is the reality of it

“The sooner the better people realise from now to the end of the season to stay in the league is what we need to be doing, that’s how we look at it.

“We shouldn’t be looking at anything above us or pretending we aren’t looking behind us, we are.

“We obviously want to stay in the league.”