adminOxford United defender’s message to fans after Wrexham loss
Michal Helik has a simple message on behalf of Oxford’s players as they seek to sort out their inconsistency: “It’s on us to show more hunger.”
The Polish centre-back acknowledged that there was not enough desire on show during Wednesday’s 1-0 Championship defeat at Wrexham – and refused to use the relentlessness of the fixture list as an excuse.
Oxford are a point above the relegation zone before Saturday’s trip to bottom club Sheffield Wednesday – a match which, even only a quarter of the way into the season, feels significant for both teams.
Helik experienced the pain of Championship relegation with Huddersfield two seasons ago and so knows just how unforgiving the division can be.
He also knows that Oxford cannot afford too many more performances like the poor opening half-hour that proved so costly at Wrexham.
“It’s on us to show that hunger,” he said. “The performance has to be better from us and that’s what we will try to do on Saturday.
“mentality is a big part of it, and i think that’s the area we need to improve – to be stronger, to be more hungry, i would say, to show more – because we cannot start the games like this.
“we were not tired in the first 10 minutes but we looked like we didn’t want it and that hurts.
“it was a poor performance from us in the first half, for sure. and yeah, we need to step up. we need to do better.
“we’re not accepting that. we’ve got leaders on the pitch but i think everyone need to take responsibility and that’s what i’m always pushing for.
“it has to be 11 players who are vocal, who really want to perform, to drag the team up and to get the results.”
Oxford will head to Hillsborough to face a Sheffield Wednesday side in turmoil on and off the field, with HM Revenue and Customs expected to serve a winding-up petition shortly over an unpaid £1m tax bill.
Staff and players have been paid late five times in the past seven months, with the possibility that their wages this month will be delayed too. Fans are putting pressure on owner Dejphon Chansiri to sell the club.
Wednesday’s troubles put Oxford’s inconsistencies on the pitch into perspective – but it will not make Saturday’s game any easier, as Helik acknowledged.
“The Championship is a tough league,” Helik said.
“That’s why you need to be really strong mentally across those 46 games and try to perform on the same level. And that level has to be really high.
“I expect to see that hunger back at the weekend. And we’re going to demand it, in order to show a lot more than we showed on Wednesday.
“We need to focus on ourselves. We need to step up and we need to get back to the winning form and we need to find momentum.”
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