Andy Whing is looking for Oxford United to break clear of the leading pack in Sky Bet League Two by starting a winning run against fellow high-fliers Exeter City tonight.

Victory at Accrington Stanley on Saturday would have taken the U’s back into first position.

Instead a goalless draw left them in a group of six clubs separated by a single point, while ninth-placed Southend are only one win from the summit.

A lack of consistency from the top teams has caused the congestion, and U’s midfielder Whing senses an opportunity for the U’s to seize the initiative as they face Exeter at the Kassam Stadium..

He said: “It’s unbelievable, so tight from first to ninth.

“It makes Saturday a little bit more frustrating because if we had won we’d be top, but we’ll look to bounce back against Exeter.

“There have been some strange results recently, it’s very unpredictable at the minute.

“If you can get a few wins strung together you’ll open a bit of a gap up.

“Hopefully starting Tuesday we can try and do that.”

Exeter will start the game in third, but their last two results sum up the helter-skelter nature of the division.

The 4-0 thrashing they handed out at in-form Scunthorpe United on Saturday came a week after being humbled 3-0 at home by Hartlepool United.

U’s boss Chris Wilder is optimistic following a strong second-half display at Accrington, and a 2-0 success over Northampton in the previous home game.

“I think it’s set up to be a cracking match and looking through the fixtures on the night, it’s the stand-out fixture,” he said.

“It’s great we’re in the race and it’s great my players were disappointed coming off the pitch on Saturday, because they wanted to go top.

“All managers will be looking for that consistency. We are finding that, so we need to keep it going.

“Northampton was a solid, professional performance at home and that’s what we’ll be looking for on Tuesday night.”