Former New Zealand U-23 men’s coach Des Buckingham has left his job as head coach of English Championship club Oxford United.
Buckingham (39) led the club to promotion from League One last season, winning a play-off against Bolton Wanderers in front of 70,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
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Buckingham was appointed Oxford’s head coach in November 2023, and led a stunning turnaround at Oxford United who avoided relegation to League Two by two points in 2022-23.
However, United have struggled in recent games and the club is within a point of the Championship relegation zone.
A club statement said: “The club would like to place on record its thanks to Des for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future.
“The appointment of a new head coach will be confirmed in due course.”
Speaking to BBC Radio Oxford after United’s 3-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday (NZT), Buckingham said: “I am who I am, and we will always be as honest as we can with the media, fans or the players and they know that. We’ve shown the success of that together.
“We will find ways to make sure we continue to challenge ourselves at this level and also make sure we put things in place to get back to getting the results we all want.
“Our aim this year was to stay in this league, that is the reality of it.”
Buckingham said it was key that fans had “stuck with us through thick and thin.”
“It’s been a rollercoaster since I arrived.
“There’s been lots of highs, we haven’t had many lows – at the moment, people will look it as a low, but these are the moments we are tested as a playing group and tested as a club.”
Fan reaction
Many Oxford United supporters have criticised the club’s decision to sack Buckingham, a decision that few expected.
The YouTube channel OUFC Fan View called it “a sad day”.
Des Buckingham’s football journey
Buckingham began his coaching career at his hometown club of Oxford United when he was 18.
He was brought to New Zealand in 2014 by WaiBOP Football as a football development officer but soon moved to Wellington where he began roles with the Wellington Phoenix.
Buckingham became an assistant coach at Melbourne City in 2020, after leaving New Zealand where he had combined Phoenix roles and coaching New Zealand’s national U-20 and U-23 squads.
In 2022, Buckingham was reportedly one of the candidates short-listed for the All Whites head coaching role after the departure of Danny Hay.
Buckingham ruled himself out of contention, saying he had signed a two-year contract extension with Mumbai City, part of the global City Football Group that has ownership stakes in 12 clubs, including English Premier League champions Manchester City and A-League club Melbourne City.
During his time with Mumbai City, the club won the 2023 ISL title, and in May, Buckingham was voted Coach of the Year by the Indian Players’ Football Association.
This story was first published on December 16, 2024.