YORK City boss Russ Wilcox admitted the club were in trouble following a 1-0 home defeat to Oxford but insisted it’s not all doom and gloom at Bootham Crescent.

The fourth-bottom Minstermen have now gone a dozen matches since their last home victory and Wilcox confessed that his players are now embroiled in a “mini league” of fellow Sky Bet League Two strugglers.

But the City chief also argued that his team deserved at least a point against the U’s and could easily be five games unbeaten going into Tuesday night’s FA Cup first round replay at AFC Wimbledon’s and next weekend’s league trip to bottom-of-the-table Hartlepool.

Reflecting on the Oxford display, Wilcox said: “It was frustrating for a lot of reasons. Lady Luck is not with us at the moment, as we saw when Michael Coulson’s shot hit the bar, post and then came out.

“But we can’t hide away from the facts. No wins in 12 games at home puts you in trouble and we are in trouble.

“We’ve got to start performing and winning games. We were on the front foot in the first half and squeezed them up the pitch while creating moments of quality and the application and endeavour was there for the full 90 minutes.

"But, in the second half, we were looking for more nous, game management and quality. I don’t think that’s a lot to ask and I have told the players to look at their games and see where we can improve.

“But it shouldn’t be all doom and gloom. We were four games unbeaten before this match and I thought we deserved something from the game over the 90 minutes.

“I’m not sure we did enough to win, but I don’t think they did either.”

There was cause for encouragement, too, when Josh Carson made his return as a 78th-minute substitute following eight months on the sidelines with cruciate knee ligament damage.

Last season’s leading marksman Wes Fletcher also made his first start in seven games following hamstring trouble, but Wilcox added that both players would need to be nursed to full fitness.

“I was delighted for Josh because he’s worked so hard since I came into the building,” the Minstermen boss pointed out. “He’s been out a long time but he’s come back ahead of schedule, because he had been pencilled him in for Plymouth away on November 29.

“I spoke to him before the game and explained that we were a bit short at the top end of the pitch and that I was looking for a bit of quality there. I asked him if he could give me 15 minutes and he was really up for it.

“He showed glimpses of quality and the quicker we can bring him up to match speed the better. That might need to be done from the bench for now and we’ve got two or three that we are building up a bit.

“Wes has also been out for a month and, while I wanted to leave him on the pitch because he’s a goalscorer, we need to be careful and look at the bigger picture with him. I don’t want injuries or strains from fatigue.”

Certain sections of the City crowd showed little patience during and after the match when they vented their dissatisfaction and Wilcox expressing his sympathy.

“I feel for the supporters because they are getting behind the lads, but we are not giving them the rewards they deserve,” he reasoned. “They got a bit frustrated and I find that totally understandable because we have not won at home since April, but we’ve all got stick together through this difficult period at the football club.

“Luckily, results elsewhere have gone pretty well for us and there’s a bit of a mini league developing, which makes next weekend’s game at Hartlepool even bigger.”

Oxford’s goal came from a poorly-defended corner with Danny Hylton winning a near-post header from Brian Howard’s flag kick and an unmarked James Roberts converting from three yards.

Wilcox felt Roberts’ 34th-minute match-winning goal was the culmination of a catalogue of poor decisions, explaining: “Femi (Ilesanmi) should have thrown the ball down the line and we’ve got to manage periods in games better because that led to a free kick.

“After that, they got a corner and won the first phase. Then, you have to deal with the second phase, but we lost our marker and their lad was Johnny on the spot.

“We should have been touch tight and we had a man on the near post and in the central spaces, so you make sure you deal with situations like that because it’s always disappointing to concede from set-plays.”

Wilcox also believes City’s own dead-ball deliveries must improve.

“We won ten corners, which shows the pressure we put Oxford under, but we need more quality in that final third because we have not scored enough goals this season,” he said.

The City manager was pleased, however, with on-loan Bournemouth defender Stephane Zubar during his full debut after the Guadeloupe international was preferred to John McCombe in the starting line-up.

“I thought he was outstanding,” Wilcox enthused. “He helped get us up the pitch, was strong in both boxes and did well on the ball.

“He made good decisions and was aggressive in his manner and approach. He showed he’s a good addition to the group.”

Zubar is expected to keep his place at Wimbledon, although Wilcox went on to reveal that he intends to rotate his squad at Kingsmeadow, while remaining desperate to progress in this season’s competition at the same time.

He said: “We’ve got to have half an eye on the long-term situation. We have got three games in a week and we will be having a long journey before Tuesday’s game and a huge match next weekend, so we might need to use fresher players and shuffle the pack at Wimbledon.

“But I am a massive fan of the FA Cup. It’s the best competition in the world and it’s so important for the club financially because, if we want to go in the market for players, the chairman can’t keep dipping into his pocket.

“We need to generate money through winning matches in the Cup.”

With on-loan keeper Alex Cisak having been refused permission to play in the Cup for City by parent club Burnley, Wilcox is also counting on Michael Ingham to have recovered from the injury that kept him out of contention against Oxford.

“Michael picked up a shoulder injury in training, but he was close to being fit and we are hoping he will be OK for the Wimbledon game,” Wilcox revealed.

The Bootham Crescent boss is optimistic, meanwhile, that Sheffield United will allow former loan striker Diego De Girolamo to return to North Yorkshire following the Blades’ FA Cup replay against Crewe on Tuesday.

“He was on the bench for them against Doncaster this weekend but didn’t get on and I am hoping that, once their FA Cup game is out of the way, we can get him back through the door,” Wilcox added. “He has got that bit of quality and showed that with his three goals in four games.

“He gives us that chance to play better football and gives the opposition problems playing in those pockets of spaces. I’ve spoken to (Sheffield United manager) Nigel Clough and he has been very good in keeping me up to speed.

“He’s told me that nothing will happen until after the Crewe game but, once that’s out of the way, he’s looking to add to his squad and, fingers crossed, Diego can come here again then.”