Oxford United manager delighted to keep a quality Peterborough United side at bay

The struggling visitors delivered a strong defensive display which denied Posh a single clearcut chance in a 0-0 draw. It was a first clean sheet since December 17 for Oxford who remain in 20th place, but edged a point further away from the relegation zone.

Manning, who left MK Dons in the drop zone when sacked before Christmas, has picked up two away draws in his two games in charge of Oxford. His team have now collected no wins and just three points in their last 12 matches.

“It’s a difficult place to come and when you look at the attacking qualities they’ve got, I can’t imagine there’s too many teams that’ll keep a clean sheet here,” Manning said after Posh had failed to score at home for the fifth time in 2023.

“We looked like a team today. We delivered a real team performance and we’ve got to be hard to beat, that’s the important bit, so it’s a really good point.

“It’s about picking up points in our position and we have to be pleased to have got one here.

“We’ve set a benchmark in certain areas today, and it’s important we now don’t drop below that level.

“There is lots still to do, but there are definitely positives to take.

“Eventually we want to be better with the ball, but today it was about coming to a difficult place and making sure we were hard to beat. I thought we created the better chances out of the two teams as well.

“Everyone defends and everyone attacks. From the front players to the goalkeeper, everyone did their job defensively which kept us in the game.

“I think it was clear quite clear what we have worked on this week. We spent the whole week on what we do when out of possession, being compact and looking like a team.

“There is no doubt about the ability we have within the group, but it is about bringing it all together and staying connected.”

Oxford host League One leaders Sheffield Wednesday on Good Friday.