"Did an unbelievable job" - Oxford United urged to target ex-Coventry City boss after Des Buckingham exit | OneFootball

FLW's Oxford United fan pundit has given his view on who he would like to see replace Des Buckingham at the Kassam Stadium.

This article is part of Football League World’s 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Oxford United are on the hunt for a new manager following the surprise sacking of Des Buckingham on Sunday.

Boyhood U's fan Buckingham spent time in the club's academy as a player before later becoming part of the first-team coaching staff under then manager Chris Wilder.

After spells in charge of Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand's youth teams and Mumbai City, Buckingham returned to the Kassam Stadium as manager last November, replacing Liam Manning after his move to Bristol City.

Buckingham endured a different start to his tenure, but he led the U's to promotion to the Championship for the first time in 25 years after his side beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in the League One play-off final at Wembley in May.

Oxford made a strong start to life back in the second tier, winning three of their first five games, but they have won just one of their last 15 matches, and the board have decided to take action after the 3-1 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

Buckingham leaves the Yellows sitting 20th in the table, just one point above the relegation zone, and he won 20, drew 16 and lost 23 of his 59 games in charge during his 13-month reign, giving him a 33.9% win percentage.

Oxford United told to make Mark Robins move after Des Buckingham sacking

When asked for who he thinks should be the club's number one managerial target, FLW's Oxford United fan pundit Andrew Taylor said that he would like to see the club target Mark Robins, who was sacked by Coventry City last month after over seven-and-a-half years in charge at the CBS Arena.

Robins guided the Sky Blues from League Two to the brink of the Premier League during his tenure, while they also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup last season, and Andrew would prefer the 54-year-old over less experienced names such as Wycombe Wanderers manager Matt Bloomfield.

"My head goes straight to Mark Robins," Andrew told Football League World.

"He's got Championship experience, he's got experience of League One if we were to go down, and most importantly, he's got experience of promotions.

"He was very unlucky at Coventry, he was a penalty kick away from being in the Premier League, he did an unbelievable job there.

"Mark Robins would be great for Oxford, but whether he would take the job or not, I don't know.

"You could get someone like the Wycombe Wanderers manager Matt Bloomfield, who is doing an unbelievable job there, but he's very young in terms of a manager and has no Championship experience.

"He could be an up-and-coming manager, but I would side with Mark Robins."

Mark Robins may be somewhat out of reach for Oxford United

Many Oxford supporters were hugely disappointed by the news of Buckingham's sacking, and the board are under big pressure to find the right replacement.

Survival was always going to be the target for the U's this season in their first year back in the Championship, and with the club currently sitting outside the relegation zone, it could be argued that it was harsh to part company with Buckingham.

However, one win in 15 games is an alarming run of form, so the Oxford board clearly felt it was necessary to act before getting dragged deeper into a relegation battle, and second tier experience is likely to be a priority as they search for Buckingham's replacement.

It would be a huge coup for the U's if they were able to convince Robins to take over at the Kassam Stadium, but he will have no shortage of interest after his departure from Coventry, and he may be keen to wait for a more attractive job.