MICHAEL Appleton praised Oxford United for turning a negative performance into a 1-0 win at Hartlepool United.

The hosts were the better side in the first half, hitting the crossbar through Jake Gray, while only an excellent save from Benji Buchel denied Mikael Mandron 11 minutes after the break.

United have rarely been outpassed this season, but Appleton admits there were concerns after 45 minutes, so was thrilled to come away with another victory.

“I wasn’t happy at half-time and I made the players aware of that,” United’s head coach said.

“You can’t allow a side like Hartlepool on their own patch with the conditions and the fans to get on top of the game.

“You’ve got to take the sting out of things and I just felt we were a little bit negative.

“We didn’t pass the ball forward enough and everything was sideways and backwards.

“The players got the message at half-time and the second half was a hell of a lot better.

“They are delighted in there to get the three points.”

The victory, United’s 11th in the last 15 games in all competitions, took them top of Sky Bet League Two on goal difference.

Appleton pointed to the fact the season was not yet at the halfway mark, although it was an achievement worth recognising.

He said: “We’ll try and deflect as much as we possibly can, but the reality is we’re top of the league and it’s a good moment for everyone at the club.

“But we want to make sure we stay up and around it.”

He added: “The reality is we’re 20 games in and there’s 26 games to go.

“What we have done is give ourselves an opportunity if we ever do have a little bit of a blip we are able to come back from that and go again.

“That’s why it’s so important to try and get off to a decent start in the first ten games.”