Oxford United expect no favours amid Wrexham preparation

The U’s were defeated 1-0 away at Derby County on the weekend, with rivals West Bromwich Albion securing a 2-0 win over Preston North End to inflict more misery onto the Yellows.

Bloomfield’s men are now five points from safety with a game in hand on Blackburn Rovers one place above them, with the task ahead of them looking increasingly difficult as they welcome promotion-pushing Wrexham to the Kassam on Tuesday evening.

The weekend showed that Oxford cannot rely on other teams to assist them in their quest for Championship survival.

“You can’t expect any favours from anyone else,” the Yellows boss insisted.

“Our future is up to us and we have to make it happen.

“Our job is very clear on what we need to do in the next three games.

“We can’t take anything for granted. We have to go and make something happen.

Oxford United’s Ciaron Brown heads the ball (Image: Jason Dawson)

“We have to go and create our own destiny and that’s what we’ll be looking to go and do.”

Morale across the fanbase was low after the loss at Pride Park with many considering the U’s all but doomed.

“I absolutely understand that. We’re all emotional. We all, in terms of we love our football, right?

“You’re not going to find anyone who loves their football more than me, who cares about winning more than me. I hate losing with a passion and it hurts. And it affects us all.

Oxford United’s Brodie Spencer challenges Derby County’s Carlton Morris (Image: Jason Dawson)

“That’s just human reaction. If you’re going to try and claim it isn’t, then you’re lying. We’re all disappointed.

“We’re all down. But you have to lose that very quickly because football moves on, life moves on. We’ve got another opportunity tomorrow evening to correct what we were unable to do on Saturday.”

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The U’s have fielded a consistent starting XI on the past run of nine matches which has seen them defeat on only two occasions.

Oxford United’s Jamie Donley lines up a shot (Image: Jason Dawson)

This has helped conjure consistent performances over a relatively successful spell, but the Derby game felt like a fork in the road for the team, with some players looking burnt out and off the pace.

When asked if there would be changes for the welcoming of Wrexham in midweek, Bloomfield replied: “I would say possibly and possibly not.

“I think it’s really important that I try and strike the balance between consistency but freshness and we’ve spent some time with the players and we’ll be sending out a team tomorrow evening that we believe can compete in the manner that we need to compete.