JON Obika admitted Oxford United had let standards drop as their unbeaten run came to an end against Coventry City.

A four-game sequence without defeat was the club’s longest run of 2018, but a 2-1 home loss left Karl Robinson’s side in the bottom two of Sky Bet League One.

Obika, who came on as a substitute to pull a goal back late on, thought they had begun in the right manner, but the key period of the game was in a spell after the break.

He said: “We started the second half a bit slowly.

“That’s what we need to work on to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“The main thing was to get three points and we fell short. I think the second goal killed our momentum.

“We’ve been on an unbeaten run and we wanted to continue it. That’s the disappointment.”

Obika did offer a reason as to why United struggled to hit the heights of recent performances.

A strong breeze made life difficult any time the ball was in the air, while it also dried out the playing surface which hampered the home side’s attacking players.

Obika said: “I know the groundsman watered it but because of the wind it dried up very quickly, so it was quite tough to measure the ball.

“To the outsider it probably doesn’t look difficult, but it can be with the wind you have to judge where it’s going to fall.

“The main thing is we needed to get the win to push on.”

Although the goal did not bring any points, the late header did get Obika off the mark for the season, which was a boost individually.

He said: “It’s confidence.

“Against Fulham (last week) I thought I came on and made an impact. It’s the same again here and for a striker it helps.”