DEREK Fazackerley felt there was plenty for Oxford United to build on after the stalemate at Sixfields.

The 0-0 draw at Northampton Town ended a run of three straight defeats in Sky Bet League One, with the biggest positive coming from a first clean sheet since January 6.

Having been on the back foot early on, United survived and could have pinched all three points late on.

Wes Thomas headed the clearest chance against the woodwork, but Fazackerley was upbeat about the display.

The caretaker boss said: “It’s certainly a better point for us than it was for Northampton.

“Also it wasn’t just the point, but the performance – I thought the lads showed real determination and withstood the physical aspect at the back and at times we were quite creative going forward.

“We just couldn’t find that final pass or made a poor decision which stopped us getting in on goal.

“The best chance of the game fell to Wes late on when he hit the post from six yards when you would have expected him to put it in the back of the net. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

“But a point I’m pleased with and a performance as well which I think we can take quite a bit from.”

For the second game in a row, United struggled to threaten from corners.

A series of set-pieces taken short backfired, before the visitors resorted to a more conventional delivery, with little success.

Fazackerley said: “The surface made it a little bit more difficult to play the ball short.

“You could see as the ball was rolling it was bobbling about, but I’m pleased they had the courage to try it.

“It’s a work in progress and we’ll look at it again next week to see where we think we can exploit teams.”

“Throwing it into the penalty area against a big side like Northampton would have been difficult for us anyway.

“You can only try things and if they don’t work out you go back to the drawing board.”