Oxford United’s Matt Bloomfield confident of job security

The U’s were relegated from the Championship last weekend after lunchtime results meant that Charlton Athletic and West Bromwich Albion clawed themselves out of the reach of Bloomfield’s side.

Arriving in January, The Yellows’ boss helped the club to an upturn in form after a poor first half of the season under Gary Rowett.

A run of just one defeat in eight games was halted by defeats to Derby County and Wrexham, ultimately leading to Oxford’s relegation.

With one more Championship fixture remaining this weekend against promotion chasing Millwall, Bloomfield touched on his position for next season.

“Yes, I’m confident,” the United boss declared in his pre-match press conference.

“I think I’ve enjoyed my time at the club. It’s obviously been not the outcome that we wanted for the season.

(Image: ©Jason Dawson)

“We knew we’d need to get to 50 points to try and stay in the league. But you never know how the league’s going to go and pan out. We’ve been pleasantly content with some of the improvements that we’ve made.

“But ultimately, we wanted to come stay in the league.

“I’ve just not given much thought to my job, to the bigger situation.

“And ultimately, as a manager or head coach, all you can do is focus on being the best you can be.

(Image: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)

After being chosen and appointed by the powers that be at The U’s, Bloomfield maintains that he still feels supported by his bosses.

“Yeah, absolutely,” the 42-year-old replied when asked whether he still feels backed.

“I’ve not heard anything to the contrary, so I keep doing my job. I don’t know anything else, so I keep working.

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“We’ve spent lots of time with Ed this week, as we always do, working, talking about everything that’s going on around the building, around the team. So from my side, nothing’s changed. So as a head coach and as a manager, I keep working.”

Oxford discovered their fate prior to their 4-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday but, despite a good performance, the reality of relegation was one which took its toll.

(Image: Jason Dawson)

“My weekend was not good,” Bloomfield continued.

“I had to apologise to my wife on Sunday before I went to the dinner. I was not nice to be around. I hate losing.

“But we’ve got another game to play at the weekend and it’s important that we now focus on what the future holds for our football club. You can’t change the past.

“All we can do is focus on the here and now, being the best we can be today and making sure we’re ready for the weekend and trying to build towards a brighter future.”