‘We want to be pushing towards the top half, top 10'
MARK Harris hopes Oxford United can make a break for a top 10 spot in Sky Bet Championship next season.
The U's finished 17th this year, four points above the relegation zone, but the club's form under Gary Rowett would've seen them finish 10th across the 25 matches he took charge of.
READ ALSO:Six promising players United could snap up from League One
Harris joined United from Cardiff City in July 2023, and has been with the club on its journey from League One to the Championship, scoring 25 goals in 102 games.
He said: 'The last two seasons have been brilliant. To get promoted and then come into the league, and stay in it as well, we're all close enough now to realise what we're doing.
'It's about kicking on now next year. We want to be pushing towards the top half, top 10, and hopefully we get there.
'We got written off this season. Everyone but Oxford supporters and players had us 24th. We were written off last year and I'm sure we'll be written off again, but I'm fine with that.'
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE OXFORD MAIL ONLINE (Image: Newsquest)
The Wales international striker added: 'The aim was when I came to Oxford to get promoted, but obviously you don't know whether that's going to happen or not.
'Last season was unbelievable and this year our aim was not just to be safe, but push as high as we can.
'We knew the situation we were in, we knew the league we were in, and we achieved what we set out to do.
'Coming in from pre-season, I thought we had the squad to do it, and I think we showed that over the 46 games.
'It was up and down, we knew that was going to happen, but I knew we had the fight and the determination, and also the quality in the dressing room.
'At times it was a bit worrying, but I never thought 'that's it, we're down'.
'We're all good mates, but we all know when something's not going right or something needs to be said, it's done and said, and it's said in the right way.
'After that, we're not sulking, we're not moaning, we're straight back at it trying to put things right, and I think throughout this season and last season, you've seen when times are tough, we battle through and come back.
'We have got quality in the team. Sometimes we do have to grind out results because of the league we're in and the situation that the Championship throws at you.
'Hopefully now we can add in the summer and go again next season.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
16 minutes ago
- Forbes
2025 UEFA Women's Nations League: France Stay Perfect, Switzerland Relegated And Ukraine Promoted
France maintained a 100% record in their group. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images) ... More With the league stage played out in the space of a few months in the first half of the year, the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League has served as a great appetizer ahead of the Euros. Many of the tournament favorites were in action in League A, while there were some interesting stories and results elsewhere too. Each of the top three from the inaugural edition of the Women's Nations League sealed a return to the knockouts, but they all did so in different ways. In Group A1, Germany's first piece of competitive action under new head coach Christian Wück resulted in an entertaining 2-2 draw with the Netherlands. They proceeded to run away with the group thereafter, scoring 24 more goals and winning all five remaining group games comprehensively, including an emphatic 4-0 triumph over the Dutch to seal first place at the end of May. Austria finished third with six points, while Scotland was relegated after losing each of their first five games. France was even more commanding in Group A2, as they won all six games and kept clean sheets on all but one occasion. Norway was a distant second and followed by Iceland, while upcoming Euro host Switzerland finished last with just two points. Legendary head coach Pia Sundhage certainly has a task on her hands ahead of this summer's big tournament. Group A3 had all sorts of drama from start to finish. Just on the opening day, European champion England was held to a draw by Portugal while world champion Spain had to stage a dramatic late turnaround to beat Belgium 3-2. Ultimately, the two heavy-hitters went head to head for the top spot and semi-final berth. England won their first meeting by a solitary goal, but Spain staged another turnaround in the reverse fixture to win the group on the final day. Montse Tomé's side might have accumulated 15 points, but they are now without a clean sheet in 10 games and will need to tighten up at the back to meet expectations at the Euros. Spain's defense never looked entirely solid in this Nations League campaign. (Photo by Eric ...) The last group was nicely set up for an exciting finish as three teams remained in contention for the top spot on the final day, with only Wales' position confirmed at the bottom. However, Sweden raced to a three-goal lead in just over 10 minutes and went on to beat Denmark 6-1, leaving little room for any drama. Italy capitalized to finish second and avoid the relegation playoff. League B featured many teams that participated in the Euro 2025 Qualifying playoffs last year. Among them were Poland, who are set to make their debut at a major women's international tournament this summer. They certainly warmed up nicely by dominating Group B1, finishing with double of second-placed Northern Ireland's eight-point tally. Slovenia and Ireland finished level on points at the top of Group B2 with 15 each, but the former's 4-0 home head-to-head win earned them the top spot and with it, direct promotion to League A. At the bottom, Greece got the unwanted record of being the only pointless team in the top two divisions of the Nations League. Euro qualifiers Finland faced a tougher test in Group B3, where they were beaten to the top spot by Serbia. So, they will have to compete against a League A side in the promotion/relegation playoffs, which will be held in October. The promoted side from Group B4 was Ukraine, who edged ahead of Czechia thanks to a superior head-to-head record. Croatia was relegated after losing each of their first five games, thus finishing behind Albania. The directly promoted teams from League C are Slovakia, Malta, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Israel and Latvia. The Faroe Islands impressed by accumulating 10 points in six games, but perhaps the biggest story of all was Liechtenstein's final-day draw with Armenia, which earned them their first point in competitive action. Though it might not seem much, it marks a commendable effort from a team taking part in their first-ever official tournament.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wiegman optimistic Lauren James will be fit for Lionesses' squad at Euro 2025
Sarina Wiegman spoke positively about Lauren James' chances of being fit enough to play at this summer's European Championship, as she prepares to name her final squad of 23 players for the tournament on Thursday. The Chelsea forward has been sidelined since sustaining a hamstring injury in April during a victory for England at home to Belgium at Ashton Gate, and her involvement in July's Euros in Switzerland has been in doubt, but on Tuesday night Wiegman appeared more than optimistic. Advertisement Related: Clàudia Pina's double for Spain means England miss out on Nations League finals 'With LJ [James], she is of course on the pitch [training], she is still in the position that we expect her to be, so she's progressing in the rehab and that's going really well, so I'm positive about that.' Wiegman also offered an encouraging update on the return to full fitness of England's Bayern Munich midfielder Georgia Stanway, who made her first start in 2025 after recovering from a knee injury when she was in the starting lineup for Tuesday's 2-1 loss against Spain. Stanway was withdrawn at half-time but Wiegman clarified that the 26-year-old had not suffered a setback, saying: On Stanway: 'No [she does not have an injury], she's in a very good place. 'But she hasn't played for such a long time – Friday's were her first minutes after she'd been training, of course. She could play [only for] 45 minutes. I think she wanted to play more, of course, she always wants to play more, she's in such a good place, but I think this was very smart [to substitute her] to take care of her.' Advertisement Wiegman also paid tribute to Fran Kirby, after the Brighton forward's sudden announcement of her retirement, adding: 'First of all I love working with her [Kirby]. She has had an incredible career and it is still going on in the WSL. She's an amazing player and an incredible person too. 'She did everything to make the squad. Fran and I have had several conversations. I had conversations with her over this week again, looking forward to this game and I said to her that she most likely would not make the squad, even though things could change quickly. We had these honest conversations.'
Wall Street Journal
40 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
‘More' by Pulp Review: Satire and Sincerity
In the 1990s, the U.K. was in thrall to Britpop, the retro-leaning movement that was a more melodic answer to the grunge that had taken hold in the U.S. Among the biggest bands of the scene, Oasis had anthems, Blur had taste and Pulp had style. That last, Sheffield-based band, led by singer Jarvis Cocker, was initially an outlier because its first two albums came out in the '80s and weren't representative of what came later. But by 1994's 'His 'n' Hers,' Pulp had mastered its own brand of multifaceted guitar pop, which mixed glam rock, disco and punk. Mr. Cocker, whose persona was a magnetic fusion of Bryan Ferry's louche sexiness and Elvis Costello's wit, became one of rock's great frontmen. And then, after Pulp's 2001 album 'We Love Life,' produced by avant-pop legend Scott Walker, the group went its separate ways. The band's membership had always been fluid, though drummer Nick Banks and keyboardist Candida Doyle were there from nearly the beginning, and it was fair to assume after it split that Mr. Cocker would pick up where the band left off. But he had tired of Pulp's celebrity and pursued low-key solo projects. In what has become an increasingly common progression for once-disbanded groups, a series of reunion tours led to studio sessions and now, after 24 years, we have a new Pulp record. The stunningly strong 'More' (Rough Trade), out Friday, is a celebration of everything that made it great in the first place. The opening 'Spike Island' is both heavy and slinky, marrying a quasi-disco beat to a palpitating bassline that's at once sensual and menacing. Mr. Cocker, a bundle of jittery energy, spits out his lines as if he's walking briskly on the street next to you and trying to finish his story before heading down into the tube. He's an exceptionally good lyricist with an uncanny ability to mix satire and sincerity, and here he jokes about the absurdity of making a life in music while nodding to his band's history and extended absence: 'Not a shaman or a showman / Ashamed I was selling the rights / I took a breather / And decided not to ruin my life.' During his mellower solo years, Mr. Cocker has acquired some wisdom but has lost none of his mischievousness. Much of 'More' is about looking for love and breaking up, though nothing is ever simple. On the second track, 'Tina,' his narrator thinks he's found the perfect relationship, but he's never met his obsession and she doesn't know he exists: An outside observer would call him a deranged stalker. Mr. Cocker has an eye for telling images—here he imagines making love in a charity shop's storage room, 'The smell of digestive biscuits in the air.'
