Gary Rowett concedes his Oxford United didn’t warrant anything from their narrow defeat to Burnley.

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The Clarets came away 1-0 winners on Tuesday night thanks to Michal Halik’s first-half own goal.

It was a dominant performance from Scott Parker, who could and should have added further goals to their tally.

“I couldn’t stand here and say we deserved something out of the game,” Rowett told the Oxford Mail. “Although I do think we had moments in the game.

“What we’ve got to try and do at places like this is start to make those moments a little bit longer and a little bit bigger, but I thought we carried a threat. We got in some good positions without creating as much as we’d like.

“After a good start, they then settled into their game. You can clearly see that they’re a very good side, which is why they’re going to be competing for the top two positions.

“Sometimes when you’re playing against a good side, they stretch you in the way that they do, it makes it very difficult to do anything other than try to be compact. That takes a little bit away from your ability to attack for long periods.

BURNLEY, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Gary Rowett, manager of Oxford looks on from the bench during the Sky Bet Championship match between Burnley FC and Oxford United FC at Turf Moor on February 04, 2025 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

placeholder image — BURNLEY, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Gary Rowett, manager of Oxford looks on from the bench during the Sky Bet Championship match between Burnley FC and Oxford United FC at Turf Moor on February 04, 2025 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

"I thought as the game went on, certainly in the second-half, there were moments where we started to build a little bit more into the game and started to show a little bit more belief.

“In the last 15 minutes, we got into some reasonably good areas. We had a few moments but I couldn’t stand here and say we deserved something out of the game.”

The decisive moment came just after the half-hour mark, when Helik diverted Josh Cullen’s cross beyond his own goalkeeper.

“The goal was a frustrating moment,” Rowett said. “It ran off us down that inside channel. They were very good at exploiting that left-hand side.

“It’s quite difficult. They got down that side and overloaded Longy [Sam Long] and utilised the space. It was a little bit of fortune for the deflection.

“They had a couple of moments before that when maybe they’ll feel they should’ve scored. After that, we limited them to very few clear-cut chances.

"But the next step for us is seeing if we can compete a little bit better in these types of games.”