'Really dangerous' - Oxford United boss has this strong warning for squad ahead of Middlesbrough test
Middlesbrough face Championship strugglers Oxford United on Saturday afternoon.
Oxford United manager Matt Bloomfield has explained what his players must do if they want to boost their bid to avoid relegation with a victory against Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Saturday.
Boro will look to move on from Monday’s disappointing 3-1 defeat at Championship title rivals Coventry City as a hat-trick from Sky Blues forward Haji Wright condemned Kim Hellberg’s men to what has become a rare loss. However, the title race remains very much alive as the final months of the season approach and Boro know a win over the U’s coupled with a Coventry defeat at West Brom on Saturday afternoon would see them reclaim their place at the top of the table.
It is matters at the other end of the table that are the focus for Oxford, who sit second from bottom in the table and are now six points from safety after taking just one point from their last four games. That point actually came against Coventry as Bloomfield’s side battled to a goalless draw against the Sky Blues - and the former Luton Town boss believes his players will have to show the same defensive diligence and tactical awareness if they are to claim a positive result against Boro on Saturday.
"A really tough game," said the U’s boss in his pre-match press conference. "We’ve watched a lot of footage on Middlesbrough; we can see what a good team they are. Incredibly well organised in possession, really dangerous, they’ve got lots of threats all over the pitch and it’s one game we have to make sure we’re really diligent defensively and really tactically aware. I think if you look at the general span of games that we’ve had, especially away from home at Coventry, Leicester, Sheffield United, we’ve had some really tough days, really tough games on paper and we’ve acquitted ourselves fairly well in general. So, we’re looking to try and do the same again this weekend."
Challenge
Oxford face a sizeable challenge as they look to avoid relegation back into the third tier between now and the end of the season and their two-year stint in the Championship remains under severe threat. However, Bloomford has insisted the resilience his players are showing gives him hope his side can avoid the drop and preserve their second tier status.
He said: "There was a big fight for this team to stay up last season and there’s been another big fight this year. The lads are resilient, they’re a really resilient group, they’re together, they work incredibly hard. And we know the challenge that’s ahead of us. That’s one thing that isn’t daunting for them because they understand it."
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