Matt Le Tissier says Oxford should challenge in League One

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: Falkirk boss on Barney Stewart links after Oxford United bid

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.