JOE Skarz says it is vital Oxford United find the right reaction when they face Fleetwood Town tonight.

The U’s performance in the 2-1 defeat at Bristol Rovers on Sunday was described as “rubbish” by head coach Michael Appleton.

Much more is expected from the visitors at Highbury tonight, as they bid to extend a proud record.

United have only lost back-to-back in the league once since March 2015, a sequence of 56 games.

Responding to setbacks was a key element of last season’s success and Skarz is in the mood to maintain the good habit.

He said: “There will be games like that in a long season, it’s just how you react is important.

“Last season we reacted really well.

“We have gone up a league so it’s going to be a lot harder and the quality is higher.

“But we don’t want to repeat that (successive defeats) at all, because you’re always looking to get better.

“We’re going there to win the game and hopefully get us up and running.”

Striker Ryan Taylor intends to use the frustration from the Rovers game as motivation for Fleetwood.

He said: “Definitely, we were so disappointed in the changing room with how the game went.

“We knew we weren’t anywhere near where we needed to be, but we’ll take the positives from the game – if there were.

“We need to get three points.

“It will be a tough game. All the teams are physical in this league.

“You look down the fixture list and there’s not one easy game, whereas last year you might have thought ‘there’s three points there’, but this year every game is going to be tough.

“We’re more than confident we’re going to win our fair share of the games.”

The fixture is United’s fourth in 12 days at the start of the season, but another game is just what they want in the wake of the Rovers setback.

Assistant head coach Chris Allen said: “It’s good we have a midweek game.

“Players can’t wait to get in after a not so-good performance.

“We’re looking for a performance from everybody.

“We know from Sunday if you play a game and half your team is underperforming then you’re going to struggle to win.”