Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Oxford will fall short of their points total from last season as 53 was enough for 17th place
4 CommentsUpdated 3 minutes agoOxford United have been relegated to League One after Charlton Athletic won against Hull City on Saturday and can no longer be caught by the U's.
Matt Bloomfield's side needed to win both of their remaining matches and for the Addicks to lose both of their games while reducing their goal difference.
But Nathan Jones' side won 2-1 against the Tigers to move themselves out of reach.
It brings to an end a two-year spell in the second tier for Oxford after they won promotion via the League One play-offs in 2023-24.
Oxford were facing an uphill battle after losing their opening three league games of the season and were two points adrift of safety at Christmas having won just four times.
The poor first half of the campaign prompted the club to sack head coach Gary Rowett, who had replaced promotion-winning manager Des Buckingham in December 2024 and guided the club to Championship safety last season.
Ex-Luton and Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield was appointed to succeed Rowett on 9 January but was unable to provide the desired new manager bounce, picking up just one victory in his first nine matches, drawing four and losing four.
With Oxford six points from safety in late February, a potential great escape looked to be on the cards when they won three games in a row for the only time this season - against West Brom, Preston and Blackburn - and moved level on points with Leicester, who were 21st at the time.
But just one win in seven since then meant Oxford were five points behind Blackburn and six off Charlton with two games to play, with the gap now an insurmountable seven points.
West Bromwich Albion's two-point deduction on Friday also put them mathematically at risk of the drop, but the Baggies' draw with promotion-chasing Ipswich meant they are also out of reach of the drop zone.
The U's finish the season with an away trip to promotion hopefuls Millwall in a week's time.
Image source, ShutterstockImage caption, Matt Bloomfield has won five of his 19 league games in charge of Oxford (D7 L7)
Bloomfield had vowed to "keep fighting" following Tuesday's defeat by Wrexham at the Kassam Stadium.
"We're obviously terribly disappointed with the result [against Wrexham]," he told BBC Radio Oxford.
"It's hard when you're leader of the group. It's really tough when you don't get the result that you want.
"I was desperate to get a result and give our supporters something to go into the weekend but we haven't been able to do that and I feel a sense of responsibility really strongly."
Defender Sam Long, who has been in the Oxford first team since 2013 and on the journey from League Two up to the Championship, said he was "hurting".
"We just haven't been good enough and it hurts," he said. "I know to the fans it hurts as well and they deserve a lot better.
"I've been at the club as long as anyone but we just need to try to stick together as a fanbase, as a club, as a playing group, as staff and try to come out the other side."