Oxford United will go away and rebuild over the summer after a final day defeat at home to Accrington ended their League 1 season on Sunday.
It was a game with a familiar pattern from earlier in the season with United dominating much of the match but allowing chances to escape them and the visitors took full advantage of that.
“The game should have been done by half time” Liam Manning told iFollow. “We created so many opportunities and should have been out of sight. It was a very frustrating day but ultimately we achieved what we came here to do, which was to stay in the division. Now we will have a very short rest and then come back ready to put so many factors that weren’t right this season right for next.
“The attitudes on the whole were good today. There were little moments where we needed to be better but if you don’t have that mindset where you are ruthless then you allow the opposition to stay in the game and then you are susceptible to what happened in the second half.
“The players have bought into what we have been doing, in a highly pressurised few weeks so now it’s a case of reflecting, evaluating and making sure we don’t come back and find ourselves in the same position
“It’s a difficult division with the size of some of the clubs and the investment. You take nothing for grated in this division, never ease off or get too comfortable. If you relax then you can find yourself at the wrong end of the table. The culture I want is people who crave pressure, delivering and want to step up in key moments. We have to look at all of that and make sure we come back and hit the ground running.
“The reception from the fans was amazing again at the end. They have been terrific and I want to say a massive thank you for the role they have played in getting us over the line. Another challenge is for us to build on that relationship with our fans and build that ‘one club’ mentality where everyone is all in. It is up to us, players and staff, to give them something to get behind.”
See the full interview in iFollow along with extended highlights and the thoughts of scorer Billy Bodin.