The U’s were defeated 2-0 by the promotion-chasing Lions at The Den, Alex Neil’s men missing out on automatic promotion to the Premier League despite their victory.

Oxford were relegated before their penultimate match of the season before beating Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 last weekend.

After defeat in London, Bloomfield commented on the squad’s status for next season in League One.

“I cannot wait to get working, to get building, to get moving forward,” the 42-year-old declared.

“There’s a lot for us to do.

(Image: Oxford United)

“We’ve got the nucleus of a really good squad for League One.

“We’ve got some real good young players who are going to help complement the seniors.

“We still know there’s going to be a lot to do because [success] doesn’t just happen.

“I’ll be back into work on Tuesday morning. There’s obviously lots of conversations to be had with loan players returning, with lads who are either under contract or out of contract.

” There’s lots for us to work through and the only way it’s possible is just to get on with it. We’ve got to do it this week.

Oxford United’s Jeon Jin-woo stretches against Millwall (Image: Oxford United)

 “Ed [Waldron] and I have been doing a lot this week already and that will continue this week moving forward.

“We’ve got to make sure that we’re putting the building blocks in place.

“The end of the season is always really unsettling, especially when you change divisions.

Will Lankshear is the last remaining player to applaud the U’s support. 🥲

An emotional goodbye for the Spurs loanee – what an asset he has been. 👏#oufc 🟡 pic.twitter.com/qVrFB0pcno

— malachi (@MalachiObrey) May 2, 2026

“I’ve learned a lot, especially in this last week, about what we need to do moving forward.”

Bloomfield lamented the two goals that Oxford conceded on Saturday, Femi Azeez the scorer of both.

“The counter-attack from the first one I’m so disappointed with,” the United boss continued.

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“It’s our free-kick, the ball ends up in the back of our net. There’s some things we need to go over in the summer and adjust because we need to be a winning team next year more often than what we’ve been in the last two years.

“I think that’s probably the biggest disappointment for me right now; the fact that we’ve come up against such a good team and such a big day for them, yet you’re looking at both goals saying they’re both so preventable.”

Bloomfield remained firm when questioned on his position at head coach for next season.

“I’m excited for next season. I’ve not been told anything to the contrary, so I keep working.”

In their final Championship fixtures before returning to League One next season, The U’s were downed at The Den thanks to a Femi Azeez brace.

The Yellows garnered some chances but were on the back foot against a Millwall side pushing for automatic promotion to the Premier League.

With relegation confirmed for Oxford last week, Bloomfield praised his team’s efforts despite having nothing to play for.

“We showed character, but we’re going to have to show a whole lot more next season in terms of doing it game after game, week after week,” the United head coach admitted.

(Image: Oxford United)

“The lads have given us everything. There’s no getting away from that. They’ve been excellent for the four months we’ve been here in terms of their dedication, the way they’ve stuck about the task.

“And we showed some character today because it was always going to be a tough day. But there’s a lot of work we’re going to go after in the summer.

“We had some good chances. Not enough of them.

“Not enough final third entries. Not enough real sustained pressure, but that was always going to be tough given the circumstances. We did have some big chances on the day.

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“One of them goes in and we get our tails up a little bit and the whole psychology of the day changes. Yes, we had some big chances, but unfortunately we didn’t stick one away.”

Tottenham Hotspur loanee Will Lankshear and Wales international Mark Harris both saw efforts in the box go begging, Anthony Patterson clawing away the latter’s late header.

(Image: Oxford United)

Despite the two goals conceded, Bloomfield declared that he was proud of his side’s defensive efforts as The Lions peppered Jamie Cumming’s goal with 22 shots across the 90 minutes as Oxford managed only four.

“I thought we started the game alright, if I’m honest. Our intensity just dropped off a little bit and Millwall stepped on.

“It was always going to be a tough day, right? Let’s not make any bones about it against a team that had so much to play for and with such an incredible atmosphere inside the ground, it was never going to be an easy day for us.

“I thought our defenders, like Ciaron [Brown], Michal [Helik], I thought they were excellent.

“Brodie, defending 1v1 in wide areas. They defended their goal with real pride. So yeah, I thought those guys at the back were excellent today. They had a lot to defend and I thought they did it.”