Former Cardiff City boss Steve Morison was the next managerial rumour to take the reins at Oxford United, with reports claiming the 39-year-old was “keen” to take the role just six months after he was dismissed by Cardiff.
Oxford’s first game post-Karl Robinson ended in defeat at Lincoln. The U’s fell behind early when Sam Long conceded a penalty but despite a positive second half, they were unable to find an equaliser.
Dean Holden was the next manager to be linked with a move. The 43-year-old joined Charlton in December but was out of contract in the summer at the time.
Oxford’s U18s were unable to continue their record-breaking cup run as they lost 3-0 at Manchester City. The young U’s reached the quarter-finals for the first time in the club’s history.
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Jermain Defoe was the next to be linked with the Oxford job after speaking on his BBC Radio 5 Live podcast. The 40-year-old is yet to venture into management.
The next manager to be heavily linked was former MK Dons boss, Liam Manning, with reports claiming he was “on the verge” of taking the role. The 37-year-old led the Dons to the playoffs in his first season, losing out to Wycombe in the semi-final.
Manning was then unveiled ahead of Oxford’s match against Derby. The 37-year-old watched from the stands and his first game would be away at Morecambe.
Onto Derby and, unfortunately, it was another loss. While it was a much-improved performance, goals from Long and Kyle Joseph either side of three Rams goals meant the U’s sit with nine losses from ten games.
Young defender James Golding then saw his contract extended for a further year by the club. This came at the same time as a call-up to the Republic of Ireland U19 squad for their UEFA U19 Championship games at home to Slovakia, Estonia and Greece.
Former striker Dan Agyei was then linked with a return to Grenoble Road. The 25-year-old, who had struck 12 goals when the report came out, is out of contract in the summer.
Manning’s first game in charge ended all square with a 1-1 draw at Morecambe. The U’s looked more disciplined and took the lead before the break through Marcus Browne. However, the game would feel like a loss with Oxford conceding just before the 90-minute mark. The result left the U’s just two points clear of the drop before a match at Peterborough at the start of April.
The U’s were then dealt an injury blow with Lewis Bate being ruled out for the rest of the season. The 20-year-old, who has turned out 35 times for the club, picked up the injury in the defeat against Derby.
Oxford then appointed Ed Waldron as the club’s new head of recruitment, replacing Mark Thomas who left for Derby County last month.
