Oxford united FC

Matt Le Tissier says Oxford should challenge in League One

Published

3 months ago

May 25, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

The U’s finished 22nd in the Championship and were relegated with two games remaining after a tough second season in the second tier.

Oxford will be looking to bounce back next season under head coach Matt Bloomfield who oversaw an upturn in form since his January arrival but was unable to achieve Championship survival.

Last Boxing Day, the Yellows beat Le Tissier’s former side Saints 2-1 despite it since being revealed that the visitors were spying on Oxford in the lead up to the game.

The U’s had sacked Gary Rowett only three days prior to that game and were under the caretaker leadership of Craig Short.

“[Southampton] had a tough time going to Oxford, they beat us on Boxing Day this season, and they’ve got a decent enough squad there to compete for promotion,” the eight-time England international observed.

Former Southampton player Matt Le Tissier poses with fans the Sky Bet Championship match at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton (Image: Peter Tarry/PA Wire)

“They didn’t disgrace themselves in the Championship, so I don’t see there’s any reason why they shouldn’t feel like they can be challenging at the top end again.

“A lot of it’s down to what players they get to keep.

“It’s a difficult one. A lot has to do with the finances, really. Whether or not you keep your players isn’t down to whether the player wants to stay or not, first and foremost. It’s down to can we afford to pay his wages? And without knowing the ins and outs of Oxford’s wage bill, it’s kind of difficult to assess that at the moment.”

READ MORE: Why Southampton spied on Oxford United’s Christmas fixture

READ MORE: Angry Oxford United fans react to Southampton ‘Spygate’

Oxford were relegated alongside Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday.

Next year’s third tier looks a difficult one to call at present with the summer transfer window set to tell a lot about which clubs will really push for promotion next term.

Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak (right) speaks with former Southampton player Matt Le Tissier (Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)

The U’s go down with a good core of players but will need to trim the dead weight if they are to balance the books and add some extra quality.

“It’d be difficult for me to assess that without kind of going through the squads, and seeing and essentially knowing the budget of each team that’s in that league, and I think if that was actually published at the start of the season, then I think that would make it quite interesting,” Le Tissier continued.

“Take a look at the, take a look at the odds that the bookmakers are offering, and you’ll pretty much know who’s got the biggest budgets available to them. And then you kind of mix that with how good the manager is, and then you kind of decide from there.”

Quotes courtesy of Midnite.

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Oxford united FC

Oxford United player ratings in Leyton Orient cup defeat

Published

10 minutes ago

August 8, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

After defeat in Aaron Ramsey’s first competitive fixture, here is how we rated the Yellows team…

Jamie Cumming – 5

Distributed the ball decently well despite appearing visibly frustrated at his lack of options in the first half.

Disappointed late on as he was rooted to the spot for the opening goal and unable to reach the second, his positioning not quite on point.

Brodie Spencer – 5.5

Did not see many of his trademark tackles and was caught out of position on occasion.

Tried to be positive with his passing forward as Orient pressed well.

Sam Long – 5.5

Long and Brown were solid enough until the end when the O’s movement caught them and the defence out.

Saw a preview of that movement in the first half which had the potential to cause problems, and did.

Ciaron Brown – 5.5

One or two decent blocks in there but failed to stop the cross for the second goal.

Jack Currie – 6

Took up some good positions early on and provided an outlet on the left with Dembele.

Possibly missed his connection with Emakhu which was fruitful against Ipswich.

Jamie McDonnell – 6

Thought he looked good for the most part.

McDonnell’s passing was sure and accurate and he had his usual energy. He was withdrawn before the late goals.

Cameron Brannagan – 6

Got about the pitch well but maybe could have done more to get back for the two goals.

Still, made some good contributions at both ends with one memorable tackle in the box and some good play with Dembele in the opposing one.

READ MORE: Leyton Orient 2-0 Oxford United – Carabao Cup recap

READ MORE: Oxford United lose to Leyton Orient in Aaron Ramsey competitive debut

Aidomo Emakhu – 5.5

Started brightly but gave away some reckless fouls and was booked.

A couple of efforts were blocked but on the right he does not have as much space to shoot clearly.

Tyler Goodrham – 6

Picked up some good positions and turned on the ball well at times, but the Orient man-to-man marking kept him more and more quiet as the game went on.

🚨 Aaron Ramsey on Brian De Keersmaecker extended absence from the Oxford United squad:

🗣️ “Him and Stan were training back home and hopefully they can both join the group.

“They are two different cases where Brian hasn’t played any minutes. Stan has.

“Hopefully now next week…

— malachi (@MalachiObrey) August 8, 2026

Siriki Dembele – 6.5

Exciting footwork as usual and did well to win fouls.

Shuffled into space centrally and had a bit of a spark on the ball.

Mark Harris – 6

Battled well and took up better positions as the game went on.

Pressed hard but decision-making left a bit to be desired.

Aaron Ramsey says Stan Mills has trained on his own the last few days:

🗣️ “It was a medical decision for him to train over the last few days on his own to be able to re-join the group next week”#oufc 🟡

— malachi (@MalachiObrey) August 8, 2026