OXFORD United’s players came in for scathing criticism from head coach Karl Robinson following their 4-0 battering at Barnsley.

The visitors were second best all over the pitch and a strong Tykes side romped to a comfortable victory, thanks to Mamadou Thiam’s first-half brace and late strikes from Brad Potts and Victor Adeboyejo.

Robinson was fuming about the performance and ended his

post-match interview by addressing the 1,279 fans who had made the trip to South Yorkshire.

He said: “The way this should finish is an apology from me and the players to the fans who came.

“That wasn’t acceptable and we’re not fit to wear the shirt today in some ways, we didn’t wear that badge with the honour it deserves.

“You’ve got to be honest with yourself.”

Robinson felt the key to the game was the middle of the park, where United were overrun repeatedly by Barnsley attacks.

It forced the visitors to change their shape, with little success.

And while it was only the opening game of the season, Robinson did not hold back.

He said: “We got dominated in the middle of the pitch.

“It’s poor when the midfield players can’t play with two or three in there and we have to put four in to combat them.

“That means you’re not as good as the player you’re coming up against. These are facts, whether the players like it or not I don’t really care, because it’s the truth.

“You can’t hide away from the negative aspect of the game.

“There’s only one type of people who can maybe make a difference and they’re the ones who can be really honest with themselves, shake themselves off and come back better players.”