Andy Whing says that Oxford United have to get their home form sorted if they are to challenge for honours this season.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Aldershot Town means that Chris Wilder’s side have failed to win two of their three home games at the Kassam Stadium so far.

And 26-year-old defender Whing says that the U’s squad know they have already let points slip in front of their supporters.

United are ninth in the npower League Two table, but a victory on Saturday would have seen them move up to fourth place.

“We have dropped four points at home already,” he said.

“We know that we should have beaten Bradford, and certainly should have beaten ten men against Aldershot on Saturday.

“We have to put it right because draws aren’t going to help us.”

The right back added, however, that it shows the ambition in the dressing room that the squad were so downcast after the result.

“We know we let ourselves down,” he said.

“The dressing room was obviously not a great place to be afterwards because we can do so much better than that.

“Home form is always important if you are going to be challenging, so it’s crucial we put that right.”

Even manager Wilder said it was hard to take real positives out of Saturday’s result, even though it extends their unbeaten run to four games.

“Not really,” he said when asked if that was any consolation.

“When you have drawn a match at home playing against ten men, it isn’t really any comfort.

“It was a missed opportunity for us, but we believe we have the players here who can bounce back.”