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Oxford United’s board are “not emotionless husks” towards fans who were “really hurt” over the surprise sacking of manager Des Buckingham, chief executive Tim Williams has said.
Buckingham led Oxford to promotion from League One via the play-offs at the end of last season, but the boyhood fan of the club left his role after 13 months in charge on 15 December with his side a point above the Championship
Sacked Oxford United boss Des Buckingham has said he “would have loved the opportunity” to continue and try to keep the U’s in the Championship this season.
Reacting to his dismissal by the club on Sunday, Buckingham on Monday posted a message on his X account.
“Managing my boyhood club was always a dream of mine and as such I want to thank the board for giving me an opportunity
When a team has won only once in 15 games it might seem strange to talk about the outright shock that cascaded through Oxfordshire within moments of this sacking news breaking.
It is not about Des Buckingham being a local guy – or even the guy that took Oxford into the Championship for the first time in 25 years.
I did a phone-in and, of the 100 or so calls,
Prior to being appointed by Oxford, Buckingham coached in New Zealand, Australia and India, where he was in charge of Mumbai City.
He replaced Liam Manning at the Kassam Stadium with the team second in the table, and although they fell short of automatic promotion, a return to the Championship was secured with a 2-0 win over Bolton at Wembley.
Three wins and three losses at the start of the
Oxford United head coach Des Buckingham says it is important they do not look too far ahead in terms of the future of Kyle Edwards.
After signing a short-term deal in September, the forward is out of contract in January and has only been available for four Championship matches this season because of an ankle injury.
After Saturday’s visit to Plymouth, which Edwards appears doubtful for, the U’s travel to
Ferdinan is a huge name over in Indonesia, followed by 4.5 million people on Instagram and his most recent post totalling up a whopping one million likes.
Oxford United have been majority owned by Indonesian investors Anindya Bakrie and Erick Thohir since late 2022.
This season has been his first experience of English football and apart from the past two most recent squads, he has not featured in the travelling
Buckingham had to leave the Kassam early in midweek after feeling unwell during Oxford’s 1-1 draw with Derby County.
United assistant manager Craig Short told the media post-match that Buckingham had been checked over by the club doctor and recommended to head home after feeling ill with half an hour to go in the game.
“I went a little bit light-headed on Tuesday,” Buckingham said.
“I chose to remove myself
Buckingham said it “really grated” him at the time that he had not been able to show people what he could do as a coach, particularly because of working in his home city.
A strong run of form in the final 10 games rescued a play-off spot for Oxford before a semi-final victory over Peterborough United en-route to going up.
“The pleasing thing was kind of how it all played
Oxford United boss Des Buckingham says he still has his feet “firmly on the ground” despite his side’s encouraging start to the Championship season.
The U’s have won two of their opening four league games back in England’s second tier for the first time in 25 years.
Before the next international break, United will take on Stoke City and Burnley at home as well as travelling to Bristol City, Luton