In order to give Jay Matete and Will Goodwin more playing time, DES Buckingham says he will fight the urge to start them right away.
Since joining Oxford United during the January transfer window, the two players have combined for three substitute appearances.
Matete, who is on loan from Sunderland, played the last few minutes against Reading at home before logging an additional thirteen minutes at Blackpool.
The 23-year-old missed five months of play for his parent club due to a knee injury sustained during the preseason.
Goodwin, who joined the U’s from Cheltenham Town, had to miss the first four games of his career due to a quad injury, but he did play the last 30 minutes against Blackpool.
When asked how soon the two will start for United, head coach Buckingham responded, “It’s the same with everybody.” Though we’ve got a lot back in over the last week into full training, we’d like to have everyone in top shape and ready to go for 90 minutes.
Over the course of the next two or three games, we will have to manage the minutes of some players.
There’s a strong desire to start these players right away and use them for ninety minutes, but we’ve seen that if you make a mistake, you risk losing them for a while, which could have a significant effect on our plans.
“We have a good team, but we need to be very strategic about the minutes we give the players as we develop them.”
For the trip to Blackpool, the U’s were able to welcome back Goodwin in addition to Jamie Cumming, Sam Long, Billy Bodin, and Josh Murphy. This gave Buckingham, who hasn’t had much competition in the squad since taking over as head coach on November 16, some competition.
“You have to pick the team that you think is right for each game, but you also have to be fair about individual performances,” he stated.
“We see areas where other players could give us an advantage, whether it’s Wigan at home or Blackpool away.”
In advance of tonight’s matchup at home against Wigan Athletic, Buckingham stated, “I think it will be a good game.” They’ve had some success in their last games, and even the ones they’ve lost, have only been by a single goal.
“We need to start winning games and putting ourselves back into good contention and higher up the league, but we’re expecting a very tough game.”
Under Shaun Maloney’s leadership, the Latics have overcome off-field issues, and if eight points hadn’t been docked, his team would trail United by seven points.
Buckingham stated: “I think he’s done a wonderful job, but sometimes I think that can help galvanise a group when there are things going on externally.”
“They serve as an example of other Football League teams that exhibit that, as well as a genuine sense of unity, camaraderie, and a genuine drive to perform.”
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