Des Buckingham says heavy Portsmouth defeat 'doesn't change' Oxford United's approach this weekend

Portsmouth will hope to put their nightmarish outing against Stoke City firmly behind them when they face Oxford United this weekend. John Mousinho’s side were dealt an agonising 6-1 defeat on the road, keeping them on just four points for the Championship season so far.

Pompey came under serious fire for their ‘dreadful’ performance against the Potters. The News’ chief sports writer Neil Allen has flagged the result as a ‘huge wake up call’ regarding their potential battle against relegation at the end of the season.

Marlon Pack also admitted he is ‘embarrassed’ by his side’s display and described Pompey as ‘unrecognisable’. As they currently sit 23rd in the table, yet to register their first win of the season, Portsmouth have a lot of ground to make up and will be hoping for a positive comeback against Oxford.

The U’s are 11th in the table with 11 points on the board and will enter the clash at Fratton Park off the back of their 2-2 draw against Luton Town. Des Buckingham’s side haven’t since September 14th, ironically against Stoke, and will also be searching for three points on Saturday.

Following Pompey’s heavy midweek defeat, the Oxford United boss was asked about the result as his side prepares to lock horns with Mousinho’s men. Buckingham was present at the Bet365 Stadium but believes Portsmouth’s disaster on the road has no bearing on how he and the U’s will head into the match at the weekend.

“It doesn’t change our approach to it. We drove up to watch it, and I think they were at our game on Tuesday to watch us in person. You can see a little bit more than what the TV will give you, but it doesn’t change our approach,” Buckingham said.

“We know they’re a good team, and we can talk about last year, but last year is irrelevant. It’s what we’ve done this year. They have several threats and had a start to the league campaign in which they’ve been very competitive in their games, and we’ve seen that.

“We’ll go down there, prepare, and be respectful to what we think we may face, but we’ll continue trying to build on what we’ve done. The last two games, certainly against Burnley, and then the second half against Luton, if we can start where we left off, that’s what we’ll be trying to do.”