Oxford boss Des Buckingham admitted Wanderers were “better across every area” following his side’s 5-0 defeat at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

Nat Ogbeta, Josh Dacres-Cogley, George Thomason, Aaron Collins and Josh Sheehan were all on target as the Whites cruised to victory.

“We came up against a very strong Bolton team, who were on top of their game. Unfortunately for us, we weren’t anywhere near ours. That is the simple reality of it,” Buckingham told Sky Sports.

“I didn’t see that coming. I didn’t feel it coming at all with the way we have been playing, training and the way we have approached the games.

“A big blip, of course, but we need to make sure that we react very strongly from this because that was not a true showing of what we are.

“You play against good teams with good players and if you don’t get things quite right, you get punished.

“That is exactly what happened, I think they enjoyed themselves with how they played. We made it a lot easier for them than we should have.”

Buckingham admits the manner of the defeat was tough to take, especially with the game broadcast live on Sky Sports.

The Oxford chief insists they must bounce back quickly as they aim to climb into the League One play-off places.

“If you get beaten anywhere 5-0 it is an embarrassment,” he added. "It is a difficult one to take, and even more so because you are on the TV and trying to showcase what we do and how we do it.

“We weren’t able to do that for any part of the game. I thought they were better across every area and we made it very easy for them at times.

“I will take responsibility for how we set the team up and what we do, but we need to make sure we get everything right for the remaining games.”