OXFORD United are heading for relegation - unless the players pull their fingers out.

That was the blunt message from centre back Phil Whelan after a demoralising 4-1 derby defeat at Swindon last night.

For the second season running, at the place their fans are desperate to see them win most, United caved in.

It was the same score last year and that holy grail - it's 25 years since Oxford last won at the County Ground - remains as elusive as ever.

Sunday's 3-0 win over Portsmouth was made to seem a flash in the pan as Malcolm Shotton's team crashed to three goals in 14 minutes after some wing wizardry from the former Aston Villa and Liverpool player Mark Walters.

"In the last 20 minutes, Swindon scored a second goal and we collapsed," Whelan admitted afterwards. "I think it was a similar story here last year as well, and we can't allow teams to dominate us when we go behind.

"If we play like that, we are a relegation side," he warned. "We will go down if we play like that every week, especially when it's a local derby and you expect a little bit more passion than we showed."

The visitors' dressing room door remained firmly locked for more than an hour after the match, but Whelan explained that it wasn't just boss Shotton reading the riot act.

"It wasn't only the manager having his say. He allowed the players to have their say. "Quite a few things came out, quite a few home truths, hopefully it might put us in good stead for Saturday because we've got a very difficult game against Ipswich. If we play ike we did in the last 20 minutes, we'll get hammered again."

United badly missed Kevin Francis and Phil Gilchrist, and with George Ndah and Iffy Onuora both scoring twice and showing power and pace, qualities the U's don't have in their attack, Oxford looked small and lightweight by comparison.

Yet Whelan thought the problem was more mental than physical.

"I don't think it can be that we're physically not strong enough because we've coped with a lot of what they threw at us, yet in the second half we weren't mentally strong enough. Swindon

came and dominated the second half.

"At one each with 20 minutes to go, we'd played OK. We weren't briliant, but in the last 20 we collapsed and as a team we've got to be stronger than that.

"Mark Walters had had two very good shots in the first half, Phil Whitehead made two very good saves, and then he came out in the second half and did even better. We didn't learn our lessons.

"The Oxford fans came out in force today, maybe they had a bit to cheer in the first half but they've gone home very unhappy and the blame can only be put squarely on the players."

Swindon boss Steve McMahon announced after the game that he was to stay on at the County Ground, despite the axing of many of his backroom staff, though he couldn't say whether it would be for two weeks, two months or more.

"My players were magnificent. It's been an emotional time for me.

"I couldn't put into words what it's been like over the last few days, but I'm going to stay. After Bristol City and this, I wish we had a local derby every game!"

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.