Jim Smith blames a combination of bad luck and poor finishing for Oxford surrendering the grip they once had on the Nationwide Conference.

The U's are chasing the title for the first time this season after Dagenham's draw with Crawley and Oxford's defeat at Halifax saw the Daggers gain a one-point lead over Jim Smith's men.

Smith knows his team are suffering something of a mini crisis at the moment, having at one time this season looked unstoppable in their pursuit of the title.

But with their fortunes waning and having not won in their last five games, Smith knows things have to change if Oxford are to resurrect their title hopes.

"We are in a bad run, there's no doubt about it, but we are also having a load of bad luck," Smith told the club's official website.

"Maybe we had too much going our way early on in the season, but we're having unbelievable bad luck at the moment with all the four strikers out.

"The worrying thing is not scoring. We should have won all of our last three games.

"We should have scored, at a safe estimate, about eight goals this last week in our last three games."

Smith also knows that his hands are tied in the transfer market and will have to make do with the players he has at his disposal for the time being or release players.

He added: "The problem we've got, with the wage cap, is that no matter how many players you've got out injured, you can't move.

"We've got to decide whether we go for two lesser players for the same money, or one player for that money.

"Unless we can get one or two out, which I would like to do. But that's going to be difficult."