KARL Robinson is set to remain in post as head coach of Oxford United for the time being.
The Oxford Mail understands that as of Monday afternoon, there is no indication the club’s board will make a change imminently.
The 1-0 defeat away to a Cambridge United side in the Sky Bet League One relegation zone ensured Robinson’s men have lost six of their last seven matches.
The U’s sit 17th and are just seven points above the bottom four. The club are 20 points adrift of the top six.
United supporters have had little indication on the board’s position on Robinson’s future, aside from chairman Grant Ferguson liking a tweet posted by the Oxford Mail OUFC account at the weekend, in which Robinson said he can still achieve promotion with the club and insisted he is the right man for the job.
“I still believe I’ll get this football club out of this league.”
— Oxford Mail OUFC (@OxfordMailOUFC) February 18, 2023
Karl Robinson insists he is the right man to lead #oufc https://t.co/oMGhy4aZkd pic.twitter.com/HQrqchgTxT
In his post-match interview against Cambridge, Robinson said: “I know what I can do and I know these players better than anybody.
“Do I think I know what I’m doing to turn this around? Yes, I’ve been here before with this football club in a worse position than this in the first year.
“I still believe I’ll get this football club out of this league.
“I know the players inside out, I know what it takes in this league and it’s something I have belief in 100 per cent.”
The home win against Ipswich Town on January 21 lifted the U’s to 10th in the third tier, eight points shy of the play-off places.
However, in the subsequent seven games, United have picked up just one point during a run which includes defeats away to Burton Albion and Cambridge – both in the drop zone when they played the U’s.
READ AGAIN: Oxford United CEO says board doesn’t lack ambition for not sacking Karl Robinson
Earlier this month, chief executive Tim Williams was asked on BBC Radio Oxford’s Five Minute Fans Forum whether the club lacked ambition for sticking with Robinson.
“We are not lacking ambition, however what we’re not going to do is put the club at risk at the throw of a dice,” he said.
“We want to understand what is happening, we need to understand what is going wrong, and only then do we put it right.
“This is something we take incredibly seriously.
“We do not lack ambition, the ambition is still there.”
Talking to BBC Radio Oxford’s ‘The Dub’ podcast this morning, former United defender Ben Purkiss said Robinson may need extra coaching support around him.
John Mousinho acted as a player-coach for the U’s and has not been replaced by someone externally since he left to take the head coach vacancy at Portsmouth last month.
READ AGAIN: Portsmouth unable to sign Oxford United players for one year as part of Mousinho deal
Purkiss told The Dub podcast: “I wonder whether if they don’t want to move Karl on, and they think Karl is the right man to get them out of this league and into the Championship, do they go and get him some support?
“Do you see an experienced coach come in because there are vacancies there.
“I was quite close to John prior to him leaving and he had a bit of an influence maybe more around the dressing room and the players, more than the actual coaching.
“Maybe he was that go-between, between Karl and the players, so is there something to say there’s a gap in the club right now which can be addressed with somebody coming in on a coaching side of things?
“That’s not to say I don’t think Karl is a very good coach.”
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