MANAGER Chris Wilder urged all Oxford United supporters to get behind the team and not wreck the confidence of players who have performed magnificently so far this season.

The U's boss blasted a section of the crowd who kept criticising during Saturday's 4-2 win over Ebbsfleet at the Kassam Stadium, and some who booed when the players tried to keep the ball in the corner in stoppage time to protect their two-goal lead.

“I'm an honest manager and I think people enjoy it when I'm honest, and I'm critical of my team, because I am,” he said after the match.

“And I will be critical of some sections of supporters today because I thought they were rubbish.

“I'm hearing behind me criticism of my team, criticism of my captain . . . I think we've spoilt the supporters with the performances and the commitment that they've shown.

“After Kidderminster, we've won four league games on the bounce, and I'm raging, if I'm honest.

“I'm not bothered if people pat me on the back or they have a pop at me, because I've had it both ways.

“I've had it where I’m the best thing since sliced bread, or where three or four months later I haven’t got a clue.

“I haven't got a problem with that, but I think the players deserve a hell of a lot of credit today. They’ve gone out and beaten a team that's won two on the bounce.”

Alfie Potter and James Constable both scored twice, and some of the football United played was sensational.

But the barracking by a few fans took the gloss off the afternoon for the manager, he said.

“I thought the first-half performance was absolutely outstanding,” he said.

“We moved the ball about, we had chances, Alfie scored a great goal, Beano [Constable] should have walked away with the match ball in the first half alone . . .

“It was a little bit open at the end, I think that was because of the changes we had to make.

“My right back (Damian Batt) was injured and Ross Perry was struggling with a thigh injury from the first ten minutes.

“But he wanted to carry on, so there was a lot of reorganisation that had to be done.

“We didn't really want to change the shape around, and Ross has put a shift in for us. And the boy's played right back, out of position, but he was prepared to have a go for us.”

Wilder says he can't undertsand the mentality of those fans who only want to find fault.

“We've not had a winning side here for ten years, and now we've got a winning side,” he added. “Get behind us and enjoy it.

“I don't want this pulling apart. We've worked so hard – myself, Mickey Lewis, the staff, the players, the majority of supporters – to get us into this position, and what are we going to do – be hyper-critical of some players and certain performances? We've won ten games out of 11 at home.

“We've won. We'd love it to be champagne football all the time, but the bottom line is that everbody would swap positions with us.

“We are winning games of football, and we need to win games to get out of this league.

“You heard the booing when they took the ball in the corner, and it possibly was a poor decision.

“We should maybe have passed it better, but the best teams in the world keep the ball when they're 4-2 up.

“We've got to stick together if it's going to work.

“Kelvin [Thomas, United chairman] and I went to a game on Wednesday night and you could see the effect of it [fans' criticism].

“The supporters have to be positive. I've been great with the supporters and I don't want to go into a 'them or us', but sometimes we've got to realise what is needed and what is required from them as well as the players.”