ELLIOTT Moore admits the news of Des Buckingham’s sacking came as a shock to Oxford United’s players, but that something had ‘not been right’.
Buckingham was dismissed on Sunday afternoon, in the aftermath of United’s 3-1 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday.
It extended a torrid run of form to one win in 15 games for the U’s.
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United skipper Moore said: “I can only speak from what I feel on the pitch and around the lads. Something’s not been right, something’s got to change, and whatever’s happened outside, for us as players, we’ve got to make sure that we start turning the tide in our favour.
“At the end of the day, the performances haven’t been good enough compared to the start of the season, and the results have shown that.
“It’s down to us now, whether we go a goal down, whether we’re under the cosh, whatever the situation is, we stick together and try to make sure we come away with the three points. That’s what we need.”
Asked by this newspaper whether players and staff had to take some of the heat, Moore responded: “I’ll always say it, the players go out on the pitch. The coach pays a price because that’s the job, but it’s down to the staff and the players that we go out with the best intention and the best idea of how to win the game.
“But ultimately it comes down to us to put in a performance. From inside the camp, we know our performance levels as individuals and as a team have dropped off in the last month.
“It’s a busy period at Christmas. Games come thick and fast, and we need to start picking up some points.”
He added: “Whether people think we scraped up last year to get promoted, we’ve set our standards, and our standards haven’t been reached in the last month or so.
“Football is a ruthless game, we’re not winning games, and it’s about getting those points.
“For us as players, we’ve got to take responsibility as well that the performances haven’t been good enough, and we need to roll up our sleeves and put up a good fight to make sure that we stay in this league.”
The U’s now make the trip to Elland Road tomorrow to face a Leeds United side sitting second in the Sky Bet Championship table and boasting the best home record in the division.
Moore said: “As players as well, the news came as a shock, but it’s time to go to Elland Road.
“We’ll have a game plan. We’re going to put up a fight and go there trying to win the game, and we’re going to need all the support we can get.
“Let’s put in a fight, let’s put in a performance and let’s try and put some points on the board.”