OXFORD United must choose the ‘right time’ to switch back to their preferred 4-3-3 formation, says head coach Des Buckingham.

Injuries to wingers have seen Buckingham revert to a 3-4-2-1 set-up for the last three games, but the returns of Matt Phillips and Przemyslaw Placheta from the bench allowed United’s head coach to go back to 4-3-3.

The wide duo came on within just over 10 minutes of each other in the second half of the disappointing 6-2 loss at home to Middlesbrough, with Placheta lining up on the left and Phillips down the right.

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Buckingham said: “That’s what we’ve set up for, whether it’s 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 with a single six, and that’s what we’ve recruited for.

“That’s how we want to play as a club. We’ve had to adapt that in the last three games because of the obvious injury issues we’ve had.

“It’s now managing and making the call at the right time, as we get these players back up to speed because they’ve missed a lot of football.”

In addition to Phillips and Placheta, midfielder Cameron Brannagan was involved for the first time since suffering a knee injury in mid-September, playing just over 70 minutes before being replaced.

Buckingham said: “Cam wants to win. He’s a very driven individual, but he’s very important to us as a collective.

“You’ve seen that over many years now. He’ll bring that into the midfield, and it’s one thing having players back fit, but it’s another thing having them match fit and getting that match sharpness up.

“We got 70 minutes into him, and we got minutes into Matty and Shemmy, so that’ll put us into a better place going into the next couple of games.”