Overhaul not needed for Matt Bloomfield’s Oxford United

Oxford were defeated 2-0 on the final day of the season at Millwall and The U’s head coach was questioned as to the state of the squad heading into the summer.

“There’s going to be work that needs to be done to make sure that we come back in August and we’re ready to go,” Bloomfield told BBC Radio Oxford.

“I don’t think there’s an overhaul needed [or] that is necessary, but there are certainly some things that we need to improve on.

“We do have the nucleus of a really good squad for League One. We’ve had a squad that have been here for a few years. We’ve also got some really good young players who the football club have invested in that we’re really pleased to have.”

Oxford United head coach Matt Bloomfield celebrates (Image: Jason Dawson)

And he is right.

Oxford’s core of (to our knowledge) contracted players is strong.

Jamie Cumming, a Championship-capable goalkeeper, as number one. Experience and quality in defence with the likes of Ciaron Brown, Michal Helik, Sam Long, Jack Currie, and Brodie Spencer.

There is youth and excitement in the midfield and wide areas in Stan Mills, Aidomo Emakhu, and Jamie McDonnell – amongst others – and, of course, skipper Cameron Brannagan is there to hold down the fort.

Mark Harris celebrates in front of the Oxford United fans (Image: ©Jason Dawson)

Up top, there is Mark Harris, who scored 15 goals in his last League One campaign, and Nik Prelec who has shown signs in limited minutes and who will be keen to prove himself after signing for United permanently.

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An ‘overhaul’ suggests that huge swathes of players will be turned over, but that simply is not necessary this summer.

Some players will attract interest – most likely this season’s standouts like Stan Mills, Brian De Keersmaecker and Jack Currie – which The U’s will have to make decisions on regarding price tags and importance.

Oxford United head coach Matt Bloomfield on the touchline at the Kassam (Image: Jason Dawson)

There is also room for improvement in areas. The striking position is a slight unknown, for example, with the jury still out on Prelec and Harris not enjoying the most fruitful campaign last time out.

Ole Romeny also remains a slight mystery despite being at the club for near 18 months.

Oxford United’s Ole Romeny on the ball (Image: Jason Dawson)

Moving players on is where the task lies.

Out-of-favour names like Greg Leigh and Siriki Dembele are two that The Yellows must make decisions on regarding their futures with both still under contract.

It is unlikely teams will come in with big offers considering their lack of form and minutes so there is a question of whether to keep them and play them, or some sort of agreement regarding their contracts.

Other forgotten men like Louie Sibley, Will Goodwin, and Peter Kioso can be included in that realm.

Some contracts have question marks surrounding them meaning the upcoming retained list from the club will be intriguing.

But is an overhaul necessary? As Bloomfield said, ‘I don’t think so’.