Oxford United loanee says Tottenham struggle ‘hard to watch’

Donley, 21, began the campaign at Stoke before switching to Oxford in January, but as a Spurs fan who has been with the club since childhood, he has suffered through their fight at the wrong end of the Premier League.

Tottenham are hoping that Roberto De Zerbi can lead them away from trouble, appointing the former Brighton boss on a five-year contract, but they sit only one point above the bottom three with seven games left, still without a league win in 2026.

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“First and foremost, as a Spurs fan myself, it’s hard to watch, seeing them in the position they’re in,” Donley said. “Even if I wasn’t a Spurs player myself, it’s not nice to see. Me and my family watch them. Hopefully the new manager coming in can turn things around.”

Donley, on target for Northern Ireland in Tuesday’s 1-1 friendly draw with Wales, would love to help out his club, and is determined to break into the first-team picture next season.

“If I carry on the way I’m going, I just want to take it game by game, and whatever happens in the summer, I’ll be trying to do my best to get into the Spurs team,” he said.

“I think it makes it even more difficult (to watch) when I could maybe play a part in it. Obviously I’m a young player but I still think I can play a part in that Tottenham side. As a Spurs fan it’s disappointing but if I go back there in the summer I’ll try and impress in pre-season.”

Jamie Donley (Image: Ben Whitley/PA Wire)

Donley’s goal at the Cardiff City Stadium was his second for Northern Ireland, and also the second in three games after he opened his account against Luxembourg in November.

Donley poked home after seeing his initial header come back off the post, but the Antrim-born player barely celebrated, thinking he would be flagged offside.

“Because I thought it was offside I didn’t have much pressure on myself, so I was really composed,” he said. “I thought there was VAR, so that’s why I didn’t really celebrate. Luckily it wasn’t.”

Before the match in Cardiff, it emerged that Championship clubs had contacted the English Football League to raise concerns over a possible conflict of interest for Michael O’Neill, given his dual role as Northern Ireland and Blackburn boss. Oxford were reportedly among the clubs involved.

Those clubs were understood to be concerned that O’Neill’s positions could impact how he managed Northern Ireland players who are also involved in the same relegation fight as Blackburn.

Donley is part of that conversation as one of four Oxford players in the Northern Ireland squad.

Oxford, 23rd in the Championship, are four points behind Rovers, who sit 22nd.

For Donley, there was no question he wanted to play.

“I want to play every game,” he said. “Our next game (for Oxford) is on Friday so I’ve got loads of recovery (time). Once I knew I was starting, I was fully focused on this game and trying to impose myself as best as possible.”