Oxford United manager Des Buckingham has revealed the number of points that he believes will get his side into the play-offs this season.
One of many overachievers in the top-half of the table this season, Oxford do in fact sit in the play-offs at the time of writing, and cannot be dislodged over the weekend with a four-point gap to Stevenage in seventh.
After drawing 2-2 with Northampton Town on Tuesday night, the U’s would leapfrog Peterborough United to move fifth, and although teams below them do have games in hand, they importantly do have the points on the board.
Buckingham’s side are in fact unbeaten in their last five, however only one of those has seen them earn all three points. That no doubt harms their play-off chances but over that period they have picked up more points than the three teams directly below them; Peterborough, Stevenage and Blackpool.
Picking up draws is important, however if they were able to see out and win one or two of those games, then they could’ve put plenty of daylight between themselves and the team below them.
Manager Buckingham has revealed in an interview with This Is Oxfordshire, the points total that he believes will get his side into the play-offs this season.
“We think that if we look at how the league is trending, that 75 points will be enough to make the play-offs, and then 90 to get automatics.
“That’s a target, but I think there’ll be a target for everyone trying to make those positions.”
To make that number, it would require Oxford to pick up 18 points from their final 12 games, which isn’t out of reach by any means, they do however have a rather tough run-in, which sees them play plenty of the teams around them.
The U’s still have to travel to both Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers in the top three, as well as hosting each of Peterborough, Stevenage and Leyton Orient, all who have play-off ambitions, at the Kassam stadium.
Saturday sees them face off with the latter, which will be a huge game for both sides. In ninth on 48 points, Orient aren’t out of it just yet and three points will greatly boost their chances. However for Oxford, a win could well put them out of reach of their opponents for a start and that would then mean they’d need 15 points from their last 11 games to reach what Buckingham believes will get them into the post-season.
It will be an incredible achievement if they do manage to make it given the size of the clubs around them, but there is no reason as to why we shouldn’t see them in the play-offs based on consistent recent form. Picking up more wins will however help the cause, and the game against Orient is a great opportunity to distance themselves from the teams below them.
Writer’s View
Buckingham’s number seems more or less bang on, however Peterborough did require 77 points to make the play-offs last year. The manner in which they drew with Northampton on Tuesday night was rather frustrating and the U’s will be looking to bounce back against challengers Leyton Orient.
Though they have hardly set the world alight in recent weeks, Oxford are continuing to pick up points which is all that matters at this point in the season. It will be tight and could go down to the final day of the season, but we may just see Oxford in the play-offs this year.
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