Oxford United boss Gary Rowett has admitted that he is facing something of a selection headache ahead of his side’s Championship clash with Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.
The U’s find themselves three points outside of the relegation zone with two matches left to play this season, and have had to make their way through the past month of fixtures without club captain Elliott Moore, who has been sidelined due to a hamstring injury.
The defender made his return to action with a cameo appearance from the bench against Cardiff City on Easter Monday, but deputising duo Michal Helik and Ben Nelson have formed a promising partnership in his absence of late, and Rowett has hinted that their performances have made a decision over when to bring Moore back into the side more difficult.
What has Gary Rowett said about his team selection ahead of Oxford United vs Sunderland?
Speaking in a pre-match press conference, the Oxford head coach said: “It’s a headache in as much your club captain, you always want to have him involved in it, but also we’ve got some players that have come back from injury, that you then have to make good decisions.
“I think that’s probably been the scenario with Greg [Leigh]. I think Benno [Joe Bennett] has done really well and used his experience in the games. Greg was one that obviously started the first period of games for us in that good run.
“When you come back from a hamstring injury, there’s always that little bit of, ‘Do we just go with someone we know is a bit more game ready?’. These are the conversations you have all the time with different types of players and different formations.
a big factor, but managing games and managing scenarios in games is also just as important.
“We’ve done that so many times this season, where we’ve had to flip to a five at key points in the game, and it’s got us an awful lot of points by doing it. I don’t think our starting line-up is the only thing we think about. It’s the different scenarios within the game and how we manage that with the players in the squad, which is a challenge for me. It probably causes me a lot more work to do, but it’s how we’ve tried to get points, and it’s how we’ve managed to accumulate quite a few points.”
What has Gary Rowett said about Sunderland?
Addressing Sunderland’s recent form, Rowett said: “I’ve read recent comments that they’re now in play-off mode, and they’ve got to build some sort of momentum with the team, and synergy.
“Whilst I’ve been in that position, it’s hard isn’t it? Because no matter what you do, if you’re in the play-offs, the second the play-offs start, that’s when you really step up your game. Sometimes it’s a challenge. We have to prepare as though Sunderland are going to be at their best.
“They’re certainly going to be fairly relaxed in the game. I don’t think there’s any real jeopardy for them, so I think that works both ways depending on how it goes, but we know they’re a very good side. They’re a very well-coached side, so we’ll prepare for them as though this is the first leg of the play-offs. That’s how important we have to think it is to Sunderland.
“We certainly wouldn’t take anybody on the basis of the last three or four games. We do it over the season, and they’re the fourth best team in the Championship. That tells you their quality.”
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