On Tuesday, we asked for your thoughts on whether or not Oxford United will avoid relegation from the Championship.
The U's are two points adrift of safety with four games to play – three of which are against sides challenging for promotion (Derby, Wrexham and Millwall), while the other comes against already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday.
Here are a selection of your responses:
Sam: Feeling very anxious. We need three wins out of four to be almost guaranteed a great escape. Derby and Millwall will be really tough, Wrexham have been pretty good all season and Sheffield Wednesday are going down fighting. The biggest worry is the possibility of losing some of our best signings and loanees if we go down.
James: Quite nervous but also I think we can survive this season. Hopefully the Baggies will drop points but all we need to do is win.
Nigel: I think Oxford United are playing some of the best football seen at the Kassam for a long time especially after the January transfer window and the new management team. I have looked at the fixture list for the bottom seven clubs and here is where I ended up: Portsmouth 18th – 55 points, Blackburn 19th – 52, West Brom 20th – 51, Oxford 21st – 51, Charlton 22nd – 50, Leicester 23rd – 45, Sheffield W 24th – 2.
William: This Championship has had plenty of twists and turns. I feel like there’s still a few more to come, the last one being that Oxford, the smallest team in the division, stay up and send Leicester and West Brom down. Weeks ago we thought we were down and out, yet we’re still here and fighting. Come on you yellows!
Mike: We have given ourselves a chance of beating relegation. However, given Portsmouth’s form it may be WBA we are chasing.
Jonathan: Looking at Blackburn’s fixtures as the toughest bar ours, I think they could be the team to reel in. Fundamentally, we need to win our games, which I think we can regardless of who might be “on the beach” or not as we are playing well. With a fair wind we could be celebrating staying up at full-time against Sheffield Wednesday in our final home game in a week! Or maybe that’s too positive with Derby and Wrexham to play before then…
Gavin: I think it would take the magic 50 points to do it and stay up. So that’s six more. A win against Derby or Wrexham and finishing the home season with a win and safety against Sheff Wed would be the dream. However, there could be help in the form of WBA getting points deduction – but let’s not rely on that!
Mark: We need to win three out of the final four, which is a tall order. Even then, it may not be enough. But if we do go down, we do it with our heads held high and we do it together. COYY!
Michael: Oxford are going to have to win some very tough games that few expect them to if they are to stay up. But they will also feel unlucky if they are relegated, given their form has seen them only lose to Southampton in the past two months, and Saints are the best team in the Championship right now.
Based on that good form and the belief and togetherness around the club, they have a chance, particularly as the likes of Leicester, West Brom and Blackburn – despite boasting far more expensive squads – seem not nearly as confident or consistent at the moment.
Oxford are also now well used to a relegation scrap and thrive on being underdogs, particularly against higher-ranked teams in the division. It's impossible to call, but their destiny is at least in their own hands – and it certainly didn't look like it would be three months ago.
