'Big jump': Oxford United boss speaks of pride after holding Burnley to goalless draw

Despite dominating with 70 per cent of possession, the Clarets were unable to turn their dominance into three points – failing to make it three wins on the bounce.

Scott Parker’s men had two or three good chances to take what would have been a deserved win to take them to the top of the Championship table.

But as it was, the U’s held firm to claim a hard-earned point much to the delight of their manager.

“We’ve come up against what was a Premier League side less than six months ago,” Buckingham said.

“It’s a big jump, but what we’ve shown already in the seven games we’ve had now is if we stick true to what we try and do, we’ll put ourselves in the best position to try and get firstly a performance, and secondly a result.

“We knew today was going to be a very tough test at home, but I’ve just said to them in there, they can be very proud of how they’ve just worked to secure a point from this game.

“The last three home games have probably been a little bit more us with the ball, a few more chances, but we will need that other side to the game, which I’m extremely pleased with what I’ve just seen today, which will allow us more results as the season progresses.

“It was a controlled performance. I think they’ve had one shot on target throughout the whole game, as have we, so it’s a pretty balanced game in that respect.

“They had a lot of the ball, but I felt defensively, our structure was good. It was solid and the players were clear on what they were doing and when to do it.

“Most people when we talk about our game style, think about what we do with the ball. If you’re not able to do the other side of it, you’re not going to put yourself in a position to get as many points as you can.

“We’ve got several ways now where we can set up. It’s taken time to get through into the players, and whether it’s we sit a little bit deeper at times or we go to a full press, or mix both up, what you can see is a real clear understanding from the players of what to do and when to do it.

“If you don’t get it right, these types of teams and the speed in which they play at, they carve you open.

“We’re getting tested at a level we never have been for, but the pleasing thing is we’ve been able to adapt to it enough to get us something from this game.”

Oxford, who sit 11th in the table, had won all three of their previous home games prior to Saturday’s encounter.

Burnley, meanwhile, dropped down to fourth, but were boosted elsewhere with defeats for Sunderland and West Brom.