OXFORD United will take confidence from their goalless draw at Northampton Town, according to skipper John Mousinho.

The U's had only kept one clean sheet in their previous 13 games, but showed plenty of defensive resolve to claim the 0-0 draw at Sixfields.

It saw them increase the gap to the bottom four in Sky Bet League One to six points.

While the visitors had the chances to take the victory, for a side who had lost six of their last seven it marked an improvement.

Mousinho said: "I think we’ve been working towards that defensive performance for a few weeks now.

"We were really positive off the back of last week’s performance (a 1-0 defeat to Plymouth), albeit we didn’t get the result we wanted.

"I think we took a lot of encouragement from that.

"It was nice to come off the pitch to a real positive reaction from the fans and we got it again before the game today.

"That gave us a lot of energy and spirit going into the game.

"I think we rode our luck a couple of times in the first half, but certainly in the second half I thought we dominated possession and were a bit unlucky with a couple of chances.

"Whether we’ve won, lost or drawn, clean sheets are great to build on.

"They are a great starting point for any successful side.

"I think we needed it for our own confidence at the back.

"We’re a pretty new back four in terms of the three lads who have come in recently.

"In terms of getting the partnerships going and having a bit of confidence from keeping a pretty dangerous side out, I think that will do wonders for everyone in the side."

Caretaker boss Derek Fazackerley was similarly encouraged - and acknowledged Wes Thomas's header which struck the post five minutes from time was the big moment which could have claimed a precious victory.

He said: "You don’t get too many chances away from home and when they come along you’ve got to profit from them.

"Unfortunately Wes had a chance and headed it against the post.

"We had a couple of half-chances in the first half where we’ve not quite managed to work the goalkeeper.

"Overall I’m pleased with the performance and a 0-0 away from home in the situation we’ve been in is a decent result as well."