JOHN Sheridan slammed Plymouth Argyle’s performance as he acknowledged Oxford United deserved maximum points.

The Pilgrims started the game just one point behind the U’s, but they now face an uphill struggle to make the play-offs after limply slipping to a 2-0 defeat.

Sheridan, the Argyle boss, did not pull any punches.

He said: “I’ve got no qualms about the result – they were better than us.

“Every player in their team performed better than every player in my team.

“We were very, very poor.

“I left it short and sweet in the dressing room, but I just think the first-half performance was probably the worst we’ve played.

“The tempo of it and everything was way below standard.

“Oxford just looked a better team than us. We didn’t deserve anything out of the game.”

Argyle were not helped by a red card for Max Blanchard early in the second half, which angered Sheridan.

“It’s an absolutely pathetic sending-off,” he said.

“He wasn’t organised. I don’t want to speak to him, I’d lose my rag.”