MARK Sykes drops out of Oxford United's squad for today's clash with Gillingham in Sky Bet League One.
The midfielder came on as an early substitute in Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie with West Ham.
And he excelled in the 4-0 win, but there is no room for him today as James Henry, John Mousinho and Alex Gorrin return after being rested.
The only change from last weekend's 6-0 victory at Lincoln City is up front, where Matty Taylor replaces Jamie Mackie.
And Karl Robinson has told Sykes his position is down to the form of others, not the 22-year-old's performances.
He said: "I had a long chat with Mark on the phone last night and just said to him ‘you can’t do any more’.
"He’s just in a moment where every player is hitting a level. Who can you leave out?
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"Everyone who was on the bench last weekend played in midweek and was exceptional.
"It’s the industry unfortunately. He’s finding himself in a moment where a poor pre-season has put him in a place where players have jumped ahead of him.
"To be fair to Mark Sykes, the way he’s trained this week has been excellent, the performance on Wednesday was superb.
"The squad is that small there’s only him and Dan Agyei who are available but not in the squad and they have been ripping it up in training.
"But I’ve got to show faith in the players who have been performing in recent weeks."
Subs: Stevens, Long, Moore, Forde, Baptiste, Hall, Mackie.
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