Graham Rix faces a massive rebuilding job at the Kassam Stadium as Oxford United face a fourth successive year in the Football League's basement division.

Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Macclesfield means the U's have missed out on the play-offs again, condemning the fans to another season of watching Nationwide Division 3 football.

With so many of their players out of contract - and a great many also showing they are not up to the job - Rix faces a difficult task over the next few weeks.

He probably needs a complete overhaul of the playing staff.

But that would mean virtually starting from scratch, and then the team would lack any continuity.

Those players he doesn't want to keep will be told over the next few days.

But the inquests into where it all went wrong - after such a magnificent first half of the season - have already started

"In my head the rebuilding has already started," Rix said. "Next Saturday may be an opportunity to look at some things.

"But it's very clear we need some new players. It's nothing to do with the system we're playing, or who is playing where.

"This is the second year on the trot that this has happened so there's something wrong, and it's up to me to find the answer for it.

"I want players who are tuned in, I want us to be hard to beat.

"I'll be talking with the chairman this week on who we are keeping. But the players deserve to hear it first."

Rix has already discussed with chairman Firoz Kassam who he wants to keep and has drawn up a list of players he would like to bring in.

But United's new manager, now without a win in eight games, has also to decide whether the players who are being released should be told this week or next.

Ideally, he would like to play only those who are in his plans for next season, in this Saturday's final match against Rochdale at the Kassam Stadium. But he also needs to put out a competitive team.

He was set to send a very young reserve side to Plymouth today for a rearranged Pontin's Holidays Combination game.