Oxford United set to appoint 42-year-old as Karl Robinson's successor | OneFootball

Oxford United are "closing in" on the appointment of Grant McCann following the end of his stay at Peterborough United, according to yesterday evening's report from Alan Nixon.

McCann, 42, has endured a mixed managerial career but was able to win promotion back to the Championship with Hull City in 2021 before leaving them in a reasonably good position for successor Shota Arveladze.

Following the end of his spell at the MKM Stadium back in January last year, he was back in work the following month as he took the reins at Peterborough once more following Darren Ferguson's resignation.

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Unfortunately for him, he was unable to save them from the drop, though the board kept faith in him and tasked him with guiding the club back to the second tier at the first time of asking.

The club were outside of the play-off zone at the time of his departure in January - and with the 42-year-old failing to succeed at the Weston Homes Stadium - it was unclear when he was going to get his next job offer.

Following the dismissal of Robinson at the Kassam Stadium though, McCann looks set to link up with the U's, with Oxford's board feeling he's the best candidate out of those they interviewed because of his experience at his two most recent clubs.

Nixon also goes on to state that he could be in charge ahead of their away clash at Derby County this weekend.

The Verdict:

This could be a good appointment for the U's because McCann has managed in the second tier as well as in their current division, potentially making him a decent candidate for the long term.

Despite their current position, they have been competing at the top end of the table at times in recent years and may still have aspirations of getting themselves promoted at some point.

However, the task of winning promotion from League One is becoming harder and harder because of the strength of the teams and this is why they need to appoint a manager who has managed to get out of this league before.

Getting out of the relegation scrap has to be their main priority at this stage though - because they aren't in the best form and were on a downward spiral under former boss Karl Robinson.