Gary Rowett vents anger at Oxford players after damaging defeat to Hull

Gary Rowett vents anger at Oxford players after his side suffered a damaging defeat to Hull City in the Championship on Wednesday night.

Hull came back from 1-0 down to beat Oxford 2-1 at the MKM Stadium and move five points clear of the relegation zone.

Michal Helik netted from from a Matt Phillips corner, and if the three points went the U’s way, it would have been their second league win away from home this season.

However, their winless Championship run stretched to nine games as the Tigers hit back quick, netting twice in four second-half minutes to secure all three points.

“We had some really good moments, but it just felt like we gifted them the two goals,” Rowett said to Hull Live.

“That’s why I’m so annoyed with the performance. It’s tough to take. This is one of the very few times that I’ve been angry with the players. With a team fighting for their lives, it felt like we didn’t quite want to win the game enough.

“The two goals were so bad and that’s why I’m so annoyed with the performance as they didn’t look like they had enough to open us up. We started poorly and were a little bit passive. We grew into the game but I expected more fire about us.

“To go 1-0 up and, in a flick of a switch, go 2-1 down is tough to take. The frustration is that it was not as if we were under massive amounts of pressure – far from it. What you can’t accept is two soft goals and we didn’t fight for our lives to protect our win.

“At some point, someone’s gone to step up. We’ve had so many opportunities in recent games to put the hammer down and win. But we can’t just wait for other teams to lose. Getting into the position we did so quickly (in Rowett’s early days as Oxford manager), maybe we felt we had already done enough.”

He said to the Oxford Mail: “Ultimately if you get into the position we’ve been in, and you don’t win games of football, and other teams do, and the results, whether they’ve gone our way or not, they can’t go our way forever.

“Teams are going to win games of football. We can’t expect teams to go out there and not perform.

“I said to the players in there that you’ve got teams down the bottom who are absolutely fighting for their lives.

“At the moment, I don’t think we are fighting for our lives, and that’s the challenge because very soon, if we don’t win games, then we are going to be.

“We need to up our game quickly and we need to recognise the importance of the games. I’m not necessarily saying the players are going out there not understanding that, but sometimes you just run with that extra insanity when you need to and sometimes you have a little bit of extra desperation when you need to.

“I just feel as though recently, we didn’t look like that. We looked like we were a little bit waiting for the game to happen, and that’s not how you need to approach these matches.”

Rowett added: “You have to get a reaction all the time. It’s your job to go and win games of football. You don’t win games of football in the Championship just by turning up and hoping you win the game.

“You’ve got to go and earn everything that you get. I think sometimes in League One, you can do that.

“Sometimes in League One, you turn up and have a little bit of quality, and win games of football.

“I think the Championship is a very different animal. What we’ve done in this recent run of games, by not turning up the heat when we need to, we put ourselves in a difficult position. We’re going to have to get ourselves out of it, that’s what we’re going to have to do.”

Hull boss Ruben Selles, said to the club’s media: “It was a difficult game – it always is when you are in that fight.

“We started well, ended the first half well. We started to miss a couple of passes. They came back into the game and in the second half, when we were having a good time, they scored from the corner.

“The team go from that goal, score the first one, score the second one and we were able to protect (the lead).

“We are developing that competitiveness; we talk always about what we want it to be. Sometimes, it’s not the prettiest way to do it but we got the victory and we got the performance.”

On his team’s character to come from behind, Sellés responded: “I am happy but I’m not surprised. What we did last week, it was exactly what this team is right now.

“The substitutions gave us a good booster. We managed to come back and do it in a proper way and then we managed to keep the three points.”

Here’s how fans reacted as Gary Rowett vents anger at Oxford players after a damaging defeat to Hull…

@GoodrhamSZN: blame gary all you want, yes maybe the team selection was his fault but im convinced people didn’t actually see the hull goals, defensively we are fucking awful but no blame gary for individual performances

@TownsendJon80: I get the negativity but no one said it would be easy, we were supposed to be relegated at Christmas according to some, we’re still not out of it and it’s still in our hands, will be very difficult but let’s keep backing the lads. #OUFC

@GeorgeHogg93: We need to be so arrogant from minute one to minute 90, all 9 remaining games. Saturday at home to Watford is a must win. We need to be ALL UNITED, just like our League One playoff push last season which ended up with us promoted. We WILL stay up, now come on. #oufc

@snellgrove97: Not really sure what the answer is for Oxford after watching that last night. We seem to take the lead and be happy with 1 goal, or just go out from the start and be happy with a point. Feel like we never try and win. We try not to lose. Big few weeks ahead. Points needed #oufc

@NathanielOUFC: Season done; time to prepare for League One. Tactically woeful. We’re not getting many more points this season (if any). Sack him; Des was sacked for a terrible run like this.

@benjames1996: Rowett too negative and stubborn, such boring football setting up not to lose. Team selection was atrocious and no fight or heart in this team. We have been atrocious for weeks.

@billyoufc: Our results and performances have got worse ever since rowett has had “time” to work on things his best results came at a time where games came thick and fast with little time to work on things on the training ground i fear the players are not liking his ways #oufc

@IsaacOUFC: 9 without a win, Des was sacked for that. We have got worse week on week under Rowett. The more he’s put his stamp on this team the worse it has gotten. Awful team selection, awful performance. Don’t let that new manager bounce cloud how awful we have been under Rowett

@joshhickman_x: Wasn’t Des sacked for no win in 9?!? Lost our style of play and lost all hope at the moment, Poor subs and team from the manager once again. Relegate us now

@JPlumby_: Absolutely terrible from Rowett. Awful team selection and then doesn’t make subs until we’re losing. Pathetic management

@JMPOX1: Rowett is no better than Des, we only went 8 games without a win with Des not 9 like this time round. The ones running the club took a gamble of sacking one of our own who got us up when no one was expecting it. Bring back Des and sack the board!

@06Russ: An abysmal performance. Played for a draw and got a defeat. How can the team not get up for such an important game? There was no ambition whatsoever to win, poor quality and even worse poor effort.

@DrRoyBailey: How can it be that he’s manager of the month in January and yet completely reverse that in February and March?! This is now serious and we need to get the psychology of winning back before the weekend #OUFC

@Malcolm09312862: It was a dismal performance! Rowett needs to pull his finger out! We are playing so negatively! Hull were poor – 3 points for the taking! Why does he keep playing Phillips – overpaid and playing worse than everyone by a mile (and that takes some doing). 4 points in 9 games