Town boss Kieran McKenna says it’s key that his team go into Thursday’s New Year’s Day home game against managerless Oxford United with the right mindset.

The Blues, third from top, will face the third-bottom U’s full of confidence following Monday’s excellent 2-0 victory over leaders Coventry City at the CBS Arena which closed the gap to the Sky Blues to 10 points with second-placed Middlesbrough now only two points ahead of McKenna’s men with Town having a much superior goal difference.

Boro are in action away at Derby on Thursday, while Coventry are also on the road, at Charlton Athletic.

Oxford are three points from safety with Town’s next opponents, Portsmouth, who the Blues visit on Sunday, immediately ahead of them.

On their travels the Yellows have won twice - 3-1 at Bristol City in September and 2-1 at Sheffield Wednesday the following month - have drawn three and lost seven this season, a record which puts them fourth-bottom of a table based on away results.

Only four teams have scored fewer than their total of 24 and seven have conceded more than the 33 they have shipped.

Away, they have scored 11 times, the joint-sixth fewest, and have conceded 16, the joint-11th most, the same as leaders Coventry.

McKenna, speaking after the win at the CBS Stadium, was asked about the stylistic variation between teams in the Championship and whether Oxford will present a significantly different prospect from the Sky Blues.

“In many ways, although tonight, to be fair, we had a lot of the ball and we faced a lot of set plays, two of the things you could probably say we’re going to get on Thursday night again,” he said.

“It’s not stylistically, it’s probably more mindset going into the game, everyone being prepared for the fact that Oxford can beat us or any other team in this division.

“We’ve got no divine right to win the game or to score the early goal or to play fantastically well. We have to go and work for that but I don’t question the work with the group too often, to be honest.

“We have to be ready for the challenges of the game, give everything to the performance and know that it might take one minute, it might take 95 minutes, but it’s going to be tough and we’re going to have to stick together and stick doing the right things and that will give us the best chance of getting the result.”

Town fans won’t need to be reminded that the Blues were beaten 2-1 at Oxford just over a month ago.

That victory was the Yellows’ only win in 11 matches, a run which saw head coach Gary Rowett and his assistant Mark Sale relieved of their duties with Craig Short, who has been a member of the coaching staff since 2020, taking over as caretaker-manager for the fourth time.

Short’s first game in charge ended in a 2-1 home victory over Southampton on Boxing Day, before they were beaten 1-0 at the Kassam by Swansea on Monday.

“I’ve not watched them since Craig has taken the reins,” McKenna said. “The analysts have already been doing that work but it’s clear they beat Southampton as well last weekend, so they’ve had good results.

“They got a draw with Middlesbrough, they’ve had really competitive games against all the top teams in the division. We don’t expect anything different from that.

“Tactically, how they’ve set up in the last couple of games, the staff behind me have had eyes on it, my focus has been on this, but [my work on it] will start on the bus home.”

Of the Blues’ four games over the Christmas and New Year period, three have been away from home - the 0-0 draw at Millwall on Boxing Day, the win at Coventry and Sunday’s visit to Portsmouth - with the Oxford match the only one at Portman Road.

McKenna was asked whether Town feel somewhat short-changed by the fixture computer.

“Yes, we do,” he admitted. “I don’t know, I’ve not had an answer, I can’t be bothered asking why it is that way.

“Two away games over Christmas is tough, we’ve had to play a top team here tonight, twice having played midweek away fixtures, so that’s really tough. Thankfully, it’s worked out well for us.

“But there’s a lot of football left in the week yet and it’s going to be a big test and we’ve got to try and get to Sunday night in a really strong position as a group, but it’s going to take a big effort.”

The Team

McKenna may again opt for tweaking his team rather than making wholesale changes.

Christian Walton, who recorded his seventh clean sheet in 14 Championship starts at Coventry, will continue in goal.

McKenna may look at resting Darnell Furlong at right-back and bringing in Ashley Young, while skipper Dara O’Shea and Cedric Kipre look set to be the centre-halves.

Leif Davis will be at left-back if he is over his illness with Jacob Greaves otherwise again deputising having impressed at the CBS Arena.

Azor Matusiwa, who remains on nine bookings with a 10th leading to a suspension, will be at the centre of midfield with McKenna perhaps swapping Jack Taylor for Jens Cajuste alongside the Dutchman.

In the trio ahead of them, Kasey McAteer and Jaden Philogene, depending on the foot injury he sustained at Millwall, may return in the wide roles.

Marcelino Nunez could continue as the number 10 with Chuba Akpom perhaps getting the nod as the out-and-out striker with Ivan Azon having started this week’s two previous matches.

The Opposition

Midfielder Cameron Brannagan is back in training but is still a number of weeks away from a return to match action after a calf problem, while Matt Phillips is also training again, following a thigh injury suffered in September, but is also yet to return to a squad.

Defender Hidde ter Avest has been out with a hamstring injury and midfielder Ben Davies has missed the last two matches due to a knock, but both could return to the squad for the visit to Portman Road.

History

Historically, the Blues have just had the better of the U’s, winning nine (seven in the league) of the games between the teams, drawing 10 (10) and losing eight (eight).

Four of the last nine games between the teams have ended goalless and five of the last nine have been draws. Oxford have won the last two matches between the teams, both on their own turf.

The U’s have only ever won twice at Portman Road, a 1-0 success against Paul Lambert’s Blues in League One in February 2020 and a 2-1 second-tier victory over John Duncan’s Town in October 1988.

A month ago at the Kassam Stadum, Town’s six-game unbeaten run came to an end as they were beaten 2-1 by strugglers Oxford, who they have never beaten away in the league.

Mark Harris profited from a Matusiwa error in the 24th minute to give the U’s the lead against the run of play.

The Blues toiled having gone behind but levelled through Davis’s excellent volley eight minutes into the second half.

However, Town were caught short of numbers at the back as the home side counter-attacked in the 77th minute, Przemyslaw Placheta restoring their lead, and the Blues were unable to find a second equaliser in the latter stages.

The sides most recently met at Portman Road on Boxing Day 2022 when Freddie Ladapo, Wes Burns and Conor Chaplin were on target as Town comfortably beat Oxford 3-0 to claim their first victory over the U’s since February 1999.

Ladapo followed-up Chaplin’s volley in the 39th minute to give the Blues the lead, then six minutes later Burns hooked home a corner to make it 2-0 and Chaplin made it three with nine minutes left.

Familiar Faces

Town wing-back Burns spent time on loan at Oxford during the 2014/15 season, making six starts and three sub appearances, scoring once.

Blues CEO and chairman Mark Ashton previously held the same position at Oxford, while commercial director Andy Wooldridge was head of corporate with the U’s during the same period.

Left-back Greg Leigh joined Oxford from the Blues in the summer of 2023 having spent one season with Town, making nine starts and 13 sub appearances, scoring once.

Ex-Town keeper Lewis Price is the first-team goalkeeping coach with the U’s.

Price was with the Blues between 2001 and 2007 having joined the academy from Southampton and went on to make 74 starts and one sub appearances, and also won senior Welsh caps while at Portman Road.

Oxford’s head of recruitment is one-time Town full-back, academy coach and recruitment head Scott Mitchell, who joined them just over a year ago after leaving Wycombe Wanderers.

Officials

Thursday’s referee is Will Finnie, his assistants Mark Dwyer and Matthew McGrath, and the fourth official Leigh Doughty.

Luton-based Finnie, who has shown 29 yellow cards and no red in eight games so far this season, last took charge of the Blues in the 2-1 pre-season friendly defeat away at Stevenage in July 2023.

Coincidentally, his most recent competitive Town match was the 3-0 victory over Oxford three years ago in which he yellow-carded Kane Vincent-Young and two of the visitors.

Prior to that, he was in the middle for the 3-0 win at Shrewsbury in August earlier the same season in which he cautioned Sam Morsy and one Shrews player.

Before that he was the man in the middle for the 2-2 home draw with Wigan in April 2022 in which he booked Morsy, Luke Woolfenden, Wes Burns, Tyreeq Bakinson and two Latics.

Finnie also refereed the 2-1 home victory over the Shrews in October 2021 in which he cautioned Cameron Burgess, George Edmundson, Scott Fraser and one of the visitors.

His first Town match was another 3-0 win, in the Carabao Cup against Bristol Rovers at Portman Road on the opening day of 2021/22 season, in which he booked Woolfenden, Andre Dozzell and one Pirate.

Squad From

Walton, Palmer, Button, Furlong, Johnson, Young, H Clarke, Davis, O’Shea (c), Greaves, Kipre, Matusiwa, Cajuste, Taylor, Nunez, Humphreys, J Clarke, Walle Egeli, Burns, Philogene, McAteer, Akpom, Azon.

Photo: TWTD