MICHAEL Appleton has been surprised by the way Oxford United’s players have reacted to a dispassionate analysis of last weekend’s thrashing at Cambridge United.

They crumbled to lose 5-1, in a display which the U’s boss was unable to defend.

When they picked through the bones of it on Monday morning, Appleton sought to give the players his clear conclusions on what had gone wrong.

He said: “My approach was basically to lay it on the line and tell them what I thought of the game.

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“Not the obvious stuff everyone could see, there were a couple of more deep-rooted reasons why we lost the game in the way we did.

“The players knew about it, I didn’t have to rant and rave.

“I suppose the way I dealt with it was a little bit more clinical, which has a little bit of a deeper impact at times.

“It’s one thing to rant and rave, but it’s another to look them in the eye and tell them exactly what you think.

“I think that has a bigger impact on players.”

While it is how United perform against Tranmere tomorrow which counts, Appleton was encouraged by the way the squad reacted.

He said: “The response I got on Tuesday was probably the best session we’ve had since I’ve been at the football club, in terms of the intensity.

“The response I got was probably a bit better than I thought I’d get.

“That certainly picked everyone up.”

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