JAMES Henry knows Oxford United must improve on a poor start to 2022 if they are to stay in the Sky Bet League One promotion race.

The 2-0 defeat at Wycombe Wanderers means the U’s have picked up a single point from their first three games of the calendar year.

It saw them drop out of the play-off places for the first time since early December, having lost by the same scoreline at Lincoln City the previous weekend.

The verdict: Wycombe defeat left a hollow feeling after positive week

The midfielder said: “The last two away performances haven’t been good enough, we know that.

“We’ve got to rectify it, push on again and make sure we keep ourselves in that mix.”

United started brightly, but Curtis Thompson’s 33rd-minute opener put them on the back foot.

Brandon Hanlan then scored a breakaway second goal on the hour.

Henry added: “We rushed the first pass, never got out of their press and probably fell into a few of their traps.

“I thought we started really well. When you don’t take some of the opportunities or don’t make the right pass in the final third, you’re always susceptible to a team like Wycombe who are good at what they do.

“We were on the front foot again and concede a goal on the counter-attack, which we didn’t deal with well enough.

“2-0 away from home is always going to be a difficult scoreline to come back against, but we’ve got to do better. That’s on us.”

The 32-year-old came on after the second goal, as United switched to a diamond formation.

Henry fired over the bar from 20 yards late on as the U’s could not make their possession count.

He said: “We got into a few good positions but didn’t take our chances, myself included.

“I should have done better with the one on the edge of the box, so I’m annoyed at myself with that one as I fancy myself to score those.

“Collectively, we’ve got to be better.”

Read also: Fan arrested for pitch invasion during Oxford United's defeat at Wycombe

The game was marred by several incidents, including a fan invading the pitch and getting into an altercation with Steve Seddon.

Henry said: “It’s not on. To be pushed as a player is not acceptable.”