Bloomfield hungry for continued improvement
Oxford United head coach Matt Bloomfield joins the BBC's 72+ EFL podcast to discuss their upturn in Championship form and prospects for the final seven games.
Matt Bloomfield is delighted with his start to life at Oxford United and believes the U's have what it takes to beat the Championship drop. Bloomfield was appointed as successor to Gary Rowett in January with the club second-bottom, three points from safety. While they remain 23rd, the U's are now just a point from safety with seven games remaining after Bloomfield steered them to 17 points from his 15 games.
Improving the defence has been a key pillar of their improvement with just 16 goals conceded over that period after allowing 35 in their opening 24 matches. "It's been a really intense period," Bloomfield told the BBC's 72+ EFL podcast. "It's the first opportunity we've really had to reflect on what's gone and what's coming up.
"It's been great since I've been here. We've really had a go in all the games. We've been really good defensively, kept ourselves in games, thrown some punches and got some points on the board.
"We've really evolved the way we're playing, they have been some really positive signs of improvement, particularly over the past five games. "We're pleased with where we are at but hungry for more improvement to go and get the points we need between now and the end of the season. " While Bloomfield revealed he has not set a points target for survival, based on the unpredictable nature of the division, he said putting together a string of positive days on the training ground, and on the pitch, would be key to their survival.