Oxford united FC
Oxford United winger dubs Wrexham visit ‘must-win game’
The 22-year-old has been a standout performer for the U’s this season with his consistency and attacking threat which will need to be harnessed as Oxford fight for survival in the last three fixtures of the Championship season.
The Yellows were defeated 1-0 by Derby County last weekend to dampen fans’ hopes of staying up, with Matt Bloomfield’s men now five points from safety with a game in hand on Blackburn Rovers who lie one place above.
Welcoming a Wrexham side who are making a late push for the play-offs, Mills and co. must find the wins they need in the final three games.
“We all believe it can be done. It has to start tomorrow night. You don’t really want to say games are a must-win but tomorrow feels like a must-win game.
“We’re going to go into the game trying to win.
“I think the gaffer’s shown that he believes in me and that makes a massive difference confidence-wise. I’m trying to do what I can on the pitch and we’re doing all we can to help Oxford stay in the division.
“You have to look forward to it as a football player, to come up against the so-called better teams in the league. I think you have to be ready to enjoy the battle.
“Obviously, they’re fighting for play-offs and they’re going to want to come here and win the game, but that also means there’s quite a lot of pressure on them.
“We just have to try and stick to us, do our own job and hopefully that can be enough.”
Video thoughts after a tough result to take in #OxfordUnited’s 1-0 defeat to Derby County. 💭
Refreshment needed for Wrexham on Tuesday after a performance which felt like one of a doomed team. 😬#oufc 🟡 pic.twitter.com/EKvW0fm271
— malachi (@MalachiObrey) April 18, 2026
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Mills, who has three goals and three assists in the league this season, has become one of the first names on the team sheet under Bloomfield after receiving less minutes under previous head coach Gary Rowett.
There has been a clear development in his game with the former Everton man causing more and more trouble for his full back week on week.
“I think I’m very direct as a winger,” Mills pondered.
“I like to get out of the full back and try and create as many chances as possible. I think there’s definitely more to come from my game in regards to going both ways and giving the full back a bit of a headache.
“You can go down the outside, you can come on the inside, it’s going to be more difficult. I think I can definitely add more of that to my game. At the minute, I feel very consistent and I’m playing a lot of minutes.
“I’ve never played this many minutes and it’s a good feeling.”
League One club Oxford had a bid rejected for the 22-year-old last month, according to Pete O’Rourke , with the Baggies and newly-promoted Championship side Lincoln City also seeing offers denied.
West Brom have since progressed in their talks for the centre forward and have reportedly reached an agreement to secure Stewart’s services.
The former Queens Park Rangers trainee scored 10 goals in 21 appearances for Falkirk in the second half of last season, with the Bairns finishing sixth in the Scottish top tier.
READ MORE: Ex-Oxford United star Andy Whing opens up on Banbury exit
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He has visited Birmingham and accepted the opportunity to play for James Morrison’s side, according to @talkwba , with Stewart wanting the move.
Contract details are still to be finalised with the signing announcement to follow.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Agreement reached for Barney Stewart to Join West Bromwich Albion. 22yo visited Birmingham recently & accepted opportunity; contract set to be finalised – announcement to follow. Primary target throughout + wanted #wba move. W/ @EyaWeGew @WestBromXtra pic.twitter.com/6DJJUozR6I
— westbrom.fc (@talkwba) June 15, 2026
The SFWA Young Player of the Year had addressed transfer links previously, saying: “It is insane.
“If it was to happen it would be a massive step and a quick rise if it does happen and one I would have to take in my stride.”
Oxford currently have strikers Nik Prelec and Mark Harris on their books but supporters are keen to see the club add a more prolific goal scorer to the ranks.
Martin has agreed a deal with the Foxes, who are the early bookmakers’ favourites to be promoted, to take over as head coach in League One after the club was relegated from the Championship last season.
Ex-U’s head coach Rowett took Leicester down in 23rd place after being sacked by Oxford back in December.
Rowett had taken over from Marti Cifuentes who was sacked in January following a 2-1 defeat to Matt Bloomfield’s Yellows.
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Former Queens Park Rangers boss Cifuentes had Leicester in 14th at the time and six points away from the play-off places but the club were then hit with a six-point deduction in February for breaching EFL financial rules.
Leicester’s new man charge has been out of work since being sacked by Scottish giants Rangers in October after a poor start to the Scottish Premiership season.
Martin previously took Southampton to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs in 2023/24.
He began his managerial career with MK Dons after retiring with the club before moving to Swansea City in 2021 where he spent two years.
The 40-year-old was a defender in his playing days, appearing in 586 matches across his career, 309 of which were for Norwich City.
Whing, who was a key figure at Oxford United under Chris Wilder and Michael Appleton and went on to coach the youth team, led the Puritans to promotion to the National League North for the first time in their history, winning the Southern League Premier Division Central title.
After keeping Banbury in the sixth tier in their first season, the former boss resigned in May 2023.
Whing went on to become to manager of his local club Solihull Moors, guiding them to the National League play-off final before joining Barrow in League Two.
After being sacked by the Bluebirds in December, the 41-year-old is now boss of National League North outfit Brackley Town.
“I’d been there for two-and-a-half or three years, and the rise of the club was unbelievable,” the ex-Coventry City and Brighton & Hove Albion defender exclusively told the Oxford Mail.
“A new stand, went from 300 or 400 fans to 1500 or 1600, 2500 at FA Cup games. It went through the roof and I wanted to keep that going and I just felt they couldn’t, or they wanted to slow down. I thought, if we slow down, we’ll go back down to where we’ve just come from, we need to keep going.
“They were too slow with certain things and I just knew that we were going to struggle next season, going to get relegated.
“One thing was how that would look personally on me and I didn’t want that to happen to the club so I just felt it was the right time for me to go. It was a big gamble because I didn’t have anything lined up.”
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The Banbury job was Whing’s first as manager of a club.
“When I was a youth team manager [at Oxford], we’d sent a few youth team lads out on loan to Banbury so I kind of knew of the club.
READ MORE: Cult hero Andy Whing relives chaotic life at Oxford United
“It happened out the blue really. I’d left Oxford, I had a stint at Kidderminster, a stint at Coventry Under-18s, a stint at Hereford. None of them really worked out.
“I was just working with my mates at a sofa warehouse, didn’t know where to go next, didn’t have a clue.
“I got phone call out of the blue asking if I wanted the Banbury job. And I just thought, it’s a great opportunity, it’s in Oxfordshire and I’ve got contacts in Oxfordshire. I’ve got the football club down the road who I can rely on to send me loan players, which they did do…anything I needed I could always get from them.
“I thought it was a perfect fit [and] luckily I got the job. In the end, it was an absolute perfect fit.”
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