Are Oxford United closing in on safety?
Oxford United are currently meandering around the bottom half of the table but, with nine points between them and the relegation zone, many fans are beginning to feel optimistic about a second season in the Championship.The U's are on a great run, unbeaten since new boss Gary Rowett took the helm in December, which has helped lift them to 16th on 36 points.It puts them out of immediate striking distance from the bottom six and five points ahead of Cardiff City in 18th."It's pretty anomalous to go down with that many points," journalist George Elek told the Dub podcast."For these teams to all overtake us, they all have to massively improve."Though Oxford do have some tough games ahead of them which threaten to end Rowett's dazzling start.They welcome former boss Liam Manning back to the Kassam Stadium as eighth placed Bristol City visit on Saturday (12:30 GMT), before a trip to promotion-contenders Burnley three days later (19:45 GMT)."When you look at our fixtures - especially at home, where we are playing some of the best teams in the league, and the home games are where we've relied on for our points so far - I definitely accept that it's hard to plot where we are going to pick up these points," Elek said."But, we now pick up points on the road."I don't want to jinx it but I don't think we are that far away."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Steven Gerrard favourite for Championship job that would see him replace former team-mate as manager
STEVEN GERRARD is the bookies' favourite to become Middlesbrough's next manager. The Liverpool legend has been out of work since leaving Al-Ettifaq in January. 1 He was linked with a return to Rangers but pulled out of the race before Russell Martin was appointed. Instead his return to management could come at Championship side Middlesbrough. If he gets the job he will succeed his former England team-mate Michael Carrick, who was sacked last week. Gerrard, 45, is the bookies' favourite to take over at the Riverside Stadium, ahead of Rob Edwards and Steve Cooper. It appears the former Three Lions star is keen on a return to the UK after an ill-fated spell in the Middle East. Gerrard lasted just 18 months at Al-Ettifaq and won 23 of his 59 matches in charge. That stint came after he was sacked at Aston Villa following a return of two wins in the opening 12 games of the 2022-23 Premier League season. His best reign came at Rangers, where he oversaw the club's first league title for nine years in 2021. He accumulated 102 points and went unbeaten in the Scottish Premier League, ending Celtic 's period of dominance. Gerrard won 65 per cent of his games in charge at Ibrox.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
🎧 Reflecting on Vardy's early Foxes years
Thirteen years, 500 appearances and 200 goals ago, Jamie Vardy arrived at Leicester City as a record-breaking became the first £1m non-league footballer when he was brought to the King Power Stadium from Fleetwood in second episode of BBC Radio Leicester's podcast series – Havin' a party: The Jamie Vardy story – focuses on how the striker came to grips with the huge step up with Leicester leapt from the fifth tier of English football to the second when he joined the then Championship former Foxes team-mates Neil Danns, Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Conrad Logan as well as ex-goalkeeping coach Mike Stowell and a number of supporters share their memories of what it was like to see the forward get used to life in the Championship before taking the step up to the Premier League in Albrighton, who played alongside Vardy when Leicester won the Premier League title and FA Cup in later years, is co-host of the podcast and talks about the Foxes' narrow escape from relegation in 2015 and how it would set them up for future glories.
Metro
3 hours ago
- Metro
Next Brentford manager odds make little-known candidate favourite
The favourite to be Brentford's next manager would not only be taking his first role in charge of a Premier League club, but in charge of any club at all. Thomas Frank is the hot favourite to become the next Tottenham boss after the dismissal of Ange Postecoglou. The Dane has been in charge of the Bees since 2018 and done a fantastic job, leading them up from the Championship and establishing them as a consistent force in the Premier League. He now looks set to move on, with Spurs making him their number one target and Frank recognising the opportunity to take charge of the Europa League winners who will return to the Champions League next season. A deal is far from done, but if Frank does indeed move across London to take charge of Spurs, he will need to be replaced. The favourite with the bookmakers to be the next Bees boss is a well established coach, but will be a new name to many Premier League fans. Justin Cochrane has been on the coaching staff with the Brentford first team since July 2022 and took up a second role with the England senior team in February this year. On that appointment in February, he said: 'It's an honour to be asked to work for the senior men's national team,' said Cochrane. 'This is a really exciting opportunity for me and I'm extremely grateful to Brentford for allowing me to take on this role.' Cochrane had a 13-year playing career in the lower leagues but has stepped up a level after moving into coaching. He worked in the Tottenham academy, coached England up to Under-17 level, then became head of player development and coaching at Manchester United in 2021. Now after his time as Frank's assistant and working with Thomas Tuchel, he is being tipped to take over the top job at Brentford. Justin Cochrane 4/7 Kieran McKenna 7/2 Kjetil Knutsen 8/1 Danny Rohl 8/1 Michael Carrick 12/1 Edin Terzic 16/1 Steven Gerrard 16/1 Sean Dyche 16/1 Steve Copper 16/1 Gary O'Neil 16/1 Marco Rose 16/1 Odds courtesy of BetVictor BetVictor make Cochrane the runaway favourite, with other candidates lagging a long way behind in the betting. Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna is second-favourite, with Bodo/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen next in line. Other managers considered potential contenders include Danny Rohl and Michael Carrick, while the likes of Steve Cooper, Edin Terzic and Marco Rose are outsiders. Negotiations are ongoing between Spurs and Brentford over a deal for Frank. The BBC report that a compensation package could exceed £10m and will rise further if Frank wants to take members of his staff with him. A deal looks likely to be struck, though, with reports even suggesting that Frank is already trying to influence transfer policy at Tottenham. With Bryan Mbeumo a target for Manchester United this summer, Frank has reportedly told Spurs to do their best to beat the Red Devils to sign the Brentford forward. MORE: 'They're in a bit of a hole' – France star reveals why he rejected Man Utd transfer MORE: Tottenham urged to sign Arsenal and Chelsea transfer target to replace Son Heung-min MORE: Viktor Gyokeres rejects £55m transfer after Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea talks
