Oxford United star makes relegation battle admission ahead of Hull City showdown

Oxford United star makes relegation battle admission ahead of Hull City showdown

Oxford United winger Sam Long admits the international break has arrived at an inconvenient moment, following the end of their four-game unbeaten streak at Southampton.

The U’s had looked destined for a swift return to League One after two seasons in the Championship, but three consecutive wins and a draw had injected fresh hope into their survival bid.

That momentum was halted on the South Coast, and now Matt Bloomfield’s squad must turn their focus to the Good Friday clash with Hull City at the Kassam Stadium.

Long believes the form they displayed before their defeat to the play-off chasing Hull City was encouraging, and a forced two-week break is far from ideal when riding the high of three straight victories.

Hull, meanwhile, are keen to rebound after their five-game winning run on the road was ended by West Brom in their previous away fixture. They responded by comfortably defeating already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday last time out.

With 10 away victories so far and a promotion push in full swing, Sergej Jakirovic’s men know that securing three points at Oxford is crucial ahead of a home encounter with Coventry City on Easter Monday.

“We’re in a good place, and I think this break probably comes at the wrong time,” Long told BBC Radio Oxford. “But we’ll take it as it comes, use it to rest, recover, and then go again after the break. There’s a points target we’re aiming for, and that’s all our focus.”

“If we concentrate on ourselves, like we did last year, I don’t see why we can’t achieve the same results as before.

It’s disappointing, but if you’d told us five games ago that we’d be in this position, any Oxford fan, player, or staff member would have taken it immediately. We’ve shown a lot of character and are fighting to remain in this league.”