Oxford United

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Oxford United boss Gary Rowett says his side are "working hard" to try and be more creative in attack ahead of the trip to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Results vastly improved after Rowett took charge in late December, the U's going on a nine-game unbeaten run (W5 D4) to move away from the bottom three.

They suffered their first defeat under Rowett at Burnley on 4 February and also lost 2-0 at home to Portsmouth last time out.

Oxford are now without a win in their past five Championship games (D3 L2) and have scored just one goal in that time, drawing a blank in three consecutive matches.

But Rowett says he's "seen a good reaction" from his players and that games are always going to be determined by fine margins.

"When you go a goal ahead in this division it makes a huge difference to the outcome of the game," he told BBC Radio Oxford.

"Disappointed as we were, the players have been back on it this week. They've worked really hard to try and improve on one or two areas.

"Of course, we're trying to be a little bit more creative in some of those final third positions and help the attackers build that confidence back up."

Rowett added: "The team has to chip in, set-pieces, other ways of scoring, the team have to support the forwards and create opportunities for them.

"But ultimately if you're a forward player, you need to step up and come up with some of those moments.

"There is no easy solution. It's a tough league and what we've got to do is work really, really hard to make those things go our way."

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Oxford United boss Gary Rowett says he is delighted to see West Bromwich Albion head coach Tony Mowbray back on the touchline ahead of the two sides meeting on Saturday.

Rowett replaced Mowbray as Birmingham City head coach last March whilst Mowbray received treatment for bowel cancer.

After being given the all-clear, Mowbray was reappointed Albion boss in January following the departure of Carlos Corberan to Valencia.

"Its great to see Tony back," Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford.

"I obviously followed Tony at Birmingham and I think it shows how much everyone respects him that everyone is pleased for him to come back.

"I'm sure now he is back, he doesn't want everyone talking about it [the cancer diagnosis] forever but it's great to see him out there.

"It'll be nice to lock horns with him once more because he's a top football manager and a top football person and I wish him all the best."

West Bromwich Albion welcome Oxford United to The Hawthorns on Saturday (15:00 GMT) with both sides looking to return to winning ways.

Since winning five of their opening six games, the Baggies have won just six of the 27 matches that have followed (D14 L7), but still remain in control of their own play-off destiny.

The U's are without a win in their past five games (D3 L2) but are nine points above the bottom three as things stand.

• West Brom have won just one of their past eight league games against Oxford United (D3 L4), though it did come during their most recent home match against the U's in March 1999 (2-0).

• Oxford United have won just one of their 11 away league games against West Brom (D2 L8), failing to keep a single clean sheet during that time.

• West Bromwich Albion lost 2-0 at home to Blackburn in their previous league game at the Hawthorns but haven't lost consecutively at home since October 2022.

• Oxford won five of their first seven Championship games under Gary Rowett (D2), scoring 12 goals. They've since gone winless in five games, scoring just once (D3 L2).

• West Brom manager Tony Mowbray has won both of his previous managerial encounters with Oxford United, beating them twice when he was Blackburn manager in League One in 2017-18.

"The game just descended into a terrible affair between two pretty poor teams."

Robyn Cowen and Jerome Sale are joined by former Oxford United defender Ben Purkiss and podcaster George Elek to discuss the U's disappointing loss to Portsmouth, which incurred a 30-minute interruption due to a medical emergency.

You can listen to the full episode and more on The Dub podcast.

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Oxford United say the supporter who was treated for a medical emergency during Saturday's defeat by Portsmouth is in a stable condition in hospital.

The unnamed fan, who was sitting in the North Stand at the Kassam Stadium, suffered a cardiac arrest during the first half of the Championship match.

The game was stopped for 30 minutes as medics provided treatment.

"The club would like to place on record our thanks to the onsite medical team from St John Ambulance and South Central Ambulance Service, Thames Valley Police, stadium stewards, and off duty paramedics who arrived on the scene within 30 seconds," Oxford said in a statement on their website., external

"CPR was administered and the person concerned was eventually resuscitated, before being taken to hospital.

"We would also like to thank the supporters in the area for the part they played, as well as the on-pitch referee team for taking the players off the pitch during this time."

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Oxford United boss Gary Rowett spoke to BBC Radio Oxford following Saturday's 2-0 Championship defeat by Portsmouth.

Both Pompey goals came in the second half of a game that was stopped for more than 30 minutes because of a medical emergency in the stands at the Kassam Stadium.

"My immediate thoughts are for the supporter who needed the attention. Hopefully he's ok. As a flip side to that, when that happens and the players have to go off the pitch, it becomes a bit of a fractured first half and difficult to create any rhythm or continuity within that," Rowett said.

"Our performance was a little bit too rigid first half, we needed to play with a little bit more freedom in certain areas.

"I thought we got into some really good positions but it's that final pass – it's been creeping in for the last three or four games – to get someone into a goalscoring position just hasn't quite been there.

"We conceded a very poor goal from a set-piece with bodies in the box and we don't deal with, then we had three clear cut chances and should score all three, let alone at least one, and we chase the game at the end and leave ourselves open."

Plenty at stake as Oxford United welcome Portsmouth to the Kassam on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Pompey go into the game with a four-point cushion over the relegation zone with the Us just two places, but a further five points, ahead of them in 16th.

John Mousinho's side haven't picked up a point on the road since a draw at Swansea in November while their only away win came six weeks earlier at QPR.

Gary Rowett's United side have suffered just one defeat since Boxing Day - a run of 11 games - which was a 1-0 reverse at Burnley last week, though they are winless in four, scoring just once across those games.

• Oxford United have won just one of their past 10 league games against Portsmouth (D6 L3) and are winless in their last six games (D4 L2).

• Portsmouth have only won one of their past seven EFL visits to Oxford (D3 L3); a 1-0 victory in February 2021.

• After one win in eight home league games between September and December (D4 L3), Oxford have won four of their past five games (D1).

• Portsmouth have lost each of their past seven away league games; their longest run since March 2006 in the Premier League (9 games).

• Portsmouth's Callum Lang has more league goals against Oxford (6 in 7 games) than any other side, netting in each of his last four league games against them.

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Oxford United boss Gary Rowett has said that he expects striker Tom Bradshaw to be out for "a good few weeks".

The striker was left out of Oxford's squad in their scoreless draw with Derby County on Tuesday night because of an injury to his MCL (medial collateral ligament).

"I don't think he's going to be back quickly," Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford.

"I think it will be a matter of weeks, a good few weeks. It's disappointing for us."

Bradshaw signed for Oxford from Millwall midway through January and has since made five appearances and is still yet to score for the U's.

This setback leaves Oxford with just one senior striker in Mark Harris after loanee striker Dane Scarlett was recalled by his parent club Tottenham Hotspur.

Rowett has only lost one Championship match since his appointment and his team are 16th, nine points above the relegation zone.

Andrew Aloia
BBC Sport, East Midlands

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Swapping a promotion push with Blackburn Rovers for a relegation battle with Derby County is "too simplistic" a way to look at head coach John Eustace's potential move, says Oxford United boss Gary Rowett.

Eustace is close to leaving sixth-placed Rovers for a Derby side that moved out of the relegation places on goal difference on Tuesday night after picking up a point against Rowett's Oxford in a underwhelming goalless draw at Pride Park.

Rowett spoke before the match about expecting the 45-year-old former Rams midfielder to take the helm of a club be featured for across two spells.

Despite being at opposite ends of the table, it is understood that Eustace believes that Derby are the better long-term project. And with him and his family living in the region, location is also seen as motivating factor behind the potential move.

"It's very difficult to judge that decision," Rowett told BBC Sport.

"It's very easy to be black and white and say one team is sixth and one team is fourth from bottom when trying to understand why.

"Unless you are in a certain person's shoes, it's hard to judge why they want to make that decision. Both clubs are very good clubs, there is a history [as a player] with this club with someone like John.

"I'm not judging that, it's not for me to make comment on it, but I think it is a little too simplistic to think about it in those terms.

"What I would say is that it is very difficult to get into that position in the Championship [play-off spots], so there must be some form of a reason and I can only presume why he would want to make that move."

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Oxford United boss Gary Rowett spoke to written media after his side shared the points with Derby County in a goalless draw at Pride Park.

"It was a difficult game, as we knew it would be. It was quite physical, which Derby tried to make it. It's a strength they have got.

"It was a game that lacked quality. I thought we got embroiled in a little bit of a fight and little bit of a scrap.

"It was disappointing from our perspective, having only lost to Burnley in 11 games we have shown a level of quality and today we didn't quite do that. But you also have to be respectful of the division and teams are fighting for their lives aren't they.

"The fact that the [manager of the month] curse didn't strike at Derby was also nice."

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Oxford United boss Gary Rowett says he "expects" John Eustace to become the new Derby County head coach - but it won't change his approach to the game against them on Tuesday night either way.

Rowett suffered his first loss as U's boss at Burnley last week, having previously gone on a nine-game unbeaten run since taking over (W5 D4).

The 50-year-old returns to Pride Park, where he made 120 appearances as a player between 1995 and 1998 and managed from March 2017 to May 2018.

"It's a club I know really well, a club I've got a lot of fondness for, a lot of time for," Rowett told BBC Radio Oxford.

"But ultimately, we're going back there trying to win the game, like I have done many times going back there as an opposition manager."

Paul Warne was sacked as Rams boss on Friday and Matt Hamshaw took temporary charge for their 1-1 draw at Norwich the following day.

Derby are understood to have made an official approach for Blackburn Rovers head coach Eustace but are yet to name their new boss.

"I don't know whether the situation will make a lot of difference to us in terms of what we've got to do," Rowett said.

"We will be prepared like we always are away from home and regardless of whether they do or don't have a new manager, we won't take the game in any different vein.

"My presumption - and it's probably not founded on anything other than presumption - is that at some point, John Eustace will probably be Derby manager.

"So, whether that's at some point tomorrow and he takes the game or whether he's at the game - whatever that is, I think if you're a Derby player, you're going to perform for the staff there like they did on Saturday.

"But you're also going to have half an eye on 'there might be a new manager somewhere out there watching', whether they're in the stands or the dugout, so I don't think it will change anything."

Oxford United are looking to bounce back from their first defeat of 2025 as they make the trip to managerless Derby County on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

The U's had not lost since boss Gary Rowett's appointment in December but faltered to a 1-0 defeat against Burnley last time out.

While, the Rams ended a seven game losing streak with a draw against Norwich City on the weekend but remain a relegation threat.

• Derby County have lost just one of their last six league games against Oxford United (W4 D1), though the Rams did lose their last home match against the U's 2-1 in August 2023.

• Oxford United have won three of their last six away league games against Derby County (D1 L2), with each of those three victories coming via a one-goal margin.

• Derby County have lost their last four home league games without scoring a single goal, with three of those 1-0 defeats. The Rams last had a longer home losing run between July and October 2020 (5), while the Rams have never lost five in a row without scoring, with this their 2,558th home game in the Football League since being founder members in 1888.

• Oxford United suffered their first league defeat under Gary Rowett last time out against Burnley (W5 D4). The former Derby manager has won each of his last four away league games at Pride Park (one with Birmingham, three with Millwall).

• Although Oxford striker Tom Bradshaw only has one Championship goal in seven appearances against Derby, that goal came in a 1-0 win at Pride Park under current U's manager Gary Rowett, when he was manager of Millwall in December 2019.

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Burnley keeper James Trafford has been named the Championship player of the month for January.

The 22-year-old did not concede a single goal, keeping six clean sheets and saving two Wilson Isidor penalties in the dying minutes to ensure a point against promotion-rivals Sunderland.

Burnley manager Scott Parker told the EFL website, external: "This is well deserved. James has been incredible all season, not just this month. Since I arrived he has been a top professional and a rock for the team."

Sky Sports' EFL pundit Don Goodman said: "On individual performance, it would be difficult to have a more perfect month than James Trafford.

"Burnley's defensive stability is going to be the key in their bid for promotion, and Trafford is central to that."

Coventry midfielder Jamie Allen, Oxford United defender Ciaron Brown and Sunderland keeper Anthony Patterson were also up for the award.

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On Wednesday we asked what you made of Oxford United's business in the transfer window.

The Us signed five players: Striker Tom Bradshaw from Millwall, Ole Romeny from Eredivisie side FC Utrecht, defender Michal Helik from Huddersfield, Chelsea U20's player Alex Matos and winger Stanley Mills who has returned to the club on a permanent deal from Everton after impressing on loan last season.

Here are some of your responses:

Nigel: Some good signings and a couple of odd ones. Jury still out on Bradshaw and Romeny, but Helik looks a monster. Stan Mills, if he get's back to his usual self, could be a huge asset. Matos looks a big talent. Things are looking up.

John: If it's enough to keep us in the division, it's good enough for me! Once the new stadium gets the green light, we'll see the next level of investment in the playing squad.

Alan: Matos and Helik look like outstanding signings and bring real quality to the squad. Bradshaw offers more Championship experience and good competition for Mark Harris. Romeny is an unknown quantity but offers another forward option, and I'm delighted to see Stan Mills back, even if he's more likely to be one for the future. Hope he's not lost any of his pace following his awful injury last season.

Of course, our best signing has been Gary Rowett, who's brought solidity, organisation and confidence to the team. Think the squad we have now is good enough to keep us in the Championship.

Hugh: Pretty uninspiring. Vaulks was the one player who needed to go, due to his erratic behaviour in matches under Buckingham. The fact that he's improved under Rowett cuts no ice with me at all and his booking at Burnley was just par for the course.

David: Good to get business done early and not be making desperate signings on deadline day. Some really big budgets in the Championship so our scouting network has to be spot on.

Jonathan: Forget the talk of needing a goalscorer, what we need is a playmaker who can create the chances for Harris, Bradshaw and the other attackers to get on the end of. We struggled to make any clear-cut chances against 11,10, and nine-man Bristol City and Burnley. Talk of a "proven goal scorer" doesn't hold much water when our current strikers are only used to close down defenders and make a nuisance of themselves without them getting the service they need.

Oliver: Happy we've added experience and proven Championship players whilst also looking to the future, these players will do a job in the Championship or in League One, and we can't ask much more than that!

Jon: Everyone coming in has improved the squad and very few outgoings. It was a big shame to see Dane Scarlett released, especially when we still have a spare squad space for a loan player and a need for a goal-scoring striker. Highlight of the window is Stan Mills' return but Alex Matos is a revelation. A very good 7.5/10.

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Coventry midfielder Jamie Allen, Oxford United defender Ciaron Brown, Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson and Burnley stopper James Trafford are the four nominees for the Championship's player of the month award for January.

Allen was injured when Frank Lampard first took over at the Sky Blues but his return to action helped City climb the table with his energy, ability to break up play and influence leading to him being handed the captain's armband.

Oxford's form since Gary Rowett took over has caught the eye and Brown has been at the heart of their improved defensive displays, helping the U's keep three clean sheets in six games in January and netting a neat equaliser against Luton to boot.

Black Cats keeper Patterson helped Sunderland keep three clean sheets in five games during the month, saving a penalty at 0-0 in an eventual win against Sheffield United, producing a brilliant one-handed stop in the goalless draw at Burnley and helping preserve a 1-0 win at Derby.

Clarets keeper Trafford was unbeatable in January with a pristine record of six clean sheets with the highlights coming in that stalemate against Burnley's promotion rivals as he saved two Wilson Isidor penalties in the dying minutes against Sunderland as well as making a crucial late stop against Leeds.