This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Oxford United have had a challenging couple of months in the Championship, and after a relatively strong start, they have slipped down towards the relegation zone.

The U’s sacked Des Buckingham on Sunday following a run of form that has seen them win just once in their last 15 games. However, they remain outside the dropzone by a point, with fellow League One promotion winners, Portsmouth, still below them.

The 39-year-old is the sixth manager to have either been relieved of his duties or resign already this season, despite exceeding early expectations in keeping his now former club out of the bottom three before he lost his job.

Nevertheless, Oxford fans will now have to prepare for life without their play-off winning manager, who joined the club in November 2023 after Liam Manning made the switch to Bristol City.

Reaction given to Buckingham’s sacking

There was a lot of shock on Sunday morning when the news about Buckingham’s departure from the Kassam Stadium was announced, and it is something that may frustrate supporters.

The Yellows perhaps did not have huge expectations this season, and ensuring that they were fighting against relegation was the main aim, and one that the 39-year-old was doing.

Nevertheless, it’s news that has rocked the division, and Football League World has asked their Oxford Fan Pundit, Andrew Taylor, for his initial reaction to the announcement.

He told FLW: “When I saw the notification come up, I was just in disbelief really.

“It’s come out of nowhere and there’s been no sort of unrest with the fans suggesting Des Buckingham should go. The reality is we’re in the Championship, we’re punching well above our weight, but maybe this is the brutality of maybe Des being the victim of his own success in a strange way.

“But even if Oxford were to get relegated, there still wouldn’t have been fans calling for his head just based on last season. I don’t know, it’s very, very strange, and I’m still in shock, to be honest.

“It’s a strange decision, but only time will tell whether it was the right decision, and my initial thoughts are surely they must have someone lined up to have pressed the button.”

Andrew continued: “Our form has been awful, we’ve got one win in 15 games and lost six out of the last seven. Yes, it’s been difficult, but we always knew in those moments that this season would be challenging. We thought if we could get to January outside the relegation zone, we’d be over-performing by a lot.

“The facts are, we’re just outside the relegation zone. Yes, it’s tight, but if the season finished tomorrow, we’d be laughing.

“Overall, I’m shocked at the decision, but as you know, only time will tell whether that was the right one. It looks like the Cardiff game on Boxing Day could be absolutely massive, and that could be off the back of a heavy defeat to Leeds.

“The pressure then will be on the players and the board to make the right decision. But as I said, time will tell whether that was the right decision, but my initial reaction was one of shock and it’s extremely harsh on Des.”

Oxford’s decision seems rash

While their form has been poor, Oxford are already over-performing, and have surprised many with results so far this season.

Wins over Norwich City, Preston North End and Stoke City earlier in the campaign were vital to ensuring that they climbed the table early. Although bringing three points in consistently has been extremely difficult, they have proven that they know how to win.

They are still above Portsmouth in the table, while the other club who won promotion to the Championship last season, Derby County, have only just ended their own run of one win in 11.

The step-up from League One to the second tier is huge, and the gap between teams at the top and bottom is only getting larger, but Oxford’s season will not be defined by losses to Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Watford – three sides who have all put them to the sword recently.

Instead, victories over Preston and Hull City, who are also struggling, are the aim, and so far they have managed that.

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