Oxford United boss on huge Portsmouth relegation clash

21st play 23rd in the Championship on Easter Monday as the U’s travel to Fratton Park, with Bloomfield facing former teammate and former Oxford captain John Mousinho.

The result of the fixture is expected to be decisive in the fight for survival with Portsmouth just one point ahead of the Yellows and one place from safety.

A win for United would most likely lift them out of the bottom three, whereas a win for Pompey would create a cushion between them and Bloomfield’s men.

The U’s boss has praised his ‘friend’ Mousinho ahead of the enormous clash.

“I know John really, really well,” Bloomfield admitted.

“I was a teammate of John’s. We were teammates at Wycombe many years ago.

Matt Bloomfield applauds Oxford United fans at the Kassam (Image: Oxford United)

“We’ve been on the PFA committee together. He’s someone I’d consider a friend as well as an ex-teammate.

“I think he’s done a great job at Portsmouth in the time. He’s obviously had a few years now, so he’s been able to mould the team, mould the club into what he wants it to be. I think he’s done a very good job and I look forward to seeing him on Monday.

Mark Harris shields the ball for Oxford United against Portsmouth (Image: Mike Allen)

“I always want to win. I hate losing, so we’ve just got to make sure we’re ready to go.

“it’s a big game. We know it’s a big game. It’s a tough game for us.

“Fratton Park is always a fantastic atmosphere, a really tough place to go and play football. It’s a big game. I don’t want to understate it either.

Cameron Brannagan converts his penalty against Hull City (Image: Oxford United)

“We’ve got to make sure we’re tactically astute for our position. We’ve got to make sure we’re ready to play.

“We can’t get carried away with what’s going on elsewhere. We’ve just got to make sure we turn up. We’ve been speaking about consistency and we’ve found a little bit and we have to keep working at it.

READ MORE: Oxford United manage lively 1-1 draw with Hull City

READ MORE: Oxford United’s Sam Long on chasing in relegation fight

READ MORE: Oxford United boss quiet on Blackburn, O’Neill incident

Myles Peart-Harris has a shot saved (Image: Oxford United)

“It doesn’t just come. We’ve got to keep working hard and keep preparing properly and keep making sure that you’re doing as much as you possibly can to be ready for the games and that’s what we’ve got to do over the weekend.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re calm enough to play properly.

“We wouldn’t be able to create the number of chances we did against Hull if we were too emotional, too hyper, too tense.

“We’ve got to play with emotion because emotion is important. If you challenge in the right way, emotion can be a really strong strength.

“But we’ve got to make sure that we keep it within realms that’s helpful and not unhelpful.”