Gary Rowett saw his unbeaten run as Oxford United head coach come to an end this week with defeat on the road.
Elsewhere, the U’s saw two deadline day departures and there was an award at the club.
Oxford United Weekly Round-Up: Two Out, Burnley Loss, Manager of the Month
Deadline Day Departures
The week began with January deadline day but it was a quiet one for Rowett, with just two fringe players departing.
First, Owen Dale was linked with Charlton, Wycombe and Wigan before joining the latter on loan until the end of the season.
The final departure was Kyle Edwards, who was out of contract last month after penning a new short-term deal, as he joined Stevenage on a permanent deal.
Dale turned out 12 times this season, starting four, but hasn’t featured since Rowett replaced Des Buckingham in December, while Edwards made seven appearances with injury keeping him sidelined for much of the campaign.
Defeat At Burnley
Oxford’s unbeaten league run under Rowett came to an end with a 1-0 defeat at promotion hopefuls, Burnley.
A Michal Helik own-goal in the first half was the difference between the two sides on a wet and windy night at Turf Moor.
Oxford will be relatively pleased with the performance considering Burnley’s impressive defence in the league this season.
Duo Nominated for Monthly Award
On Thursday, Gary Rowett and Ciaron Brown were both shortlisted for a monthly award for January.
Rowett led his Oxford United side to three wins and three draws last month, which included a first away win of the season for the U’s against Millwall.
As for Brown, he kept three clean sheets, netted in a 3-2 victory over Luton and continued to put in a string of consistent performances at the back.
The Northern Ireland international was shortlisted alongside goalkeeping duo Anthony Patterson (Sunderland) and James Trafford (Burnley), plus Coventry City midfielder Jamie Allen.
Rowett was up against Marti Cifuentes (Queens Park Rangers), Regis Le Bris (Sunderland) and Omer Riza (Cardiff City).
On Friday, Rowett claimed the award. Speaking after being announced as Manager of the Month, he said: “This is an award which is attributed to me, but it’s one for the whole football club. It’s nice to win something because it shows we have been doing something right, which is the most important thing.
“I came in at the end of December and inherited an outstanding group of players and coaches. There is an incredible standard within our training ground, one that I have been thoroughly impressed with.
“This award is a recognition of the performances and effort of the players and coaching staff. It’s not just the performance staff, it’s the medical staff, the sports science team, our kitman, and everyone else at the training ground who help us perform each day.
“The players are the ones who must take most of the credit. No matter the challenge in training or games, they have risen to it.
“The challenge now is to make sure we continue to push. We are ambitious and want to push Oxford United as far up of the league, and we will only achieve that if we continue to work hard every single day.”
