It was a turbulent month for Oxford United with three successive defeats seeing the U’s drop into the bottom three for the first time.

Following a poor run of results, the board opted to part company with head coach, Des Buckingham, who was replaced soon after by Gary Rowett. 

Oxford United December Round-Up: Three Losses Results in Buckingham Being Booted; Rowett Replacement

Poor Run Continues

Oxford were due to start the month with a trip to Plymouth but the game against Wayne Rooney’s side was postponed due to severe weather conditions.

Unfortunately, the break didn’t help as the U’s lost 2-0 at QPR. Despite a decent first half, two defensive errors gifted the R’s a comfortable win at Loftus Road, plundering the U’s deep into a relegation battle.

Another game and another defeat as Oxford lost at home against Sheffield Wednesday. Greg Leigh gave the U’s the lead in what was a decent first half display but the Owls levelled before the break and added a second just after the restart. As soon as they netted a third, it was game over.

Then came the news that no Oxford fan was expecting to read as the club decided to part ways with Des Buckingham. The Oxford-born head coach had been in charge of the club for just over a year and led the club to promotion to the second tier for the first time in 25 years.

The board acted quickly (so to speak) in replacing Buckingham with experienced Championship manager, Gary Rowett. The 50-year-old penned a “long-term” deal and was in the dugout when the U’s welcomed Cardiff on Boxing Day.

As a result, he watched from the stands as Oxford were thumped 4-0 at Leeds. The hosts dominated the 90 but only had a one-goal lead at the break. However, the Whites showed the class after the restart and added a further three goals.

Rowett took to the stands for the first time on Boxing Day and picked up a vital three points with a win over Cardiff. Mark Harris opened the scoring before second-half goals from Ciaron Brown and Przemyslaw Placheta put the U’s in a comfortable position. However, Cardiff netted twice late on which took some of the gloss of what was a decent display at Grenoble Road.

The U’s followed that up with another three points against another relegation rival in Plymouth. Brown headed home his second goal in as many games before Placheta got on the scoresheet again after a swift counter-attack.