Derek Fazackerley leaves Oxford United after 12 years

Derek Fazackerley has parted ways with Oxford United after 12 years of service for personal reasons, but his own words make clear this is not a final goodbye. “It's certainly not the end, who knows what the future holds in terms of what might come up?” he said in his BBC interview.

Fazackerley's Oxford run

He first joined Oxford as assistant manager to Michael Appleton in 2014, had a short spell as interim manager in 2018, and then spent the past six years in an advisory role. He also said: “I'll be there if they [Oxford] need me. The only difference is I won't be around as much as I was before.”

The club's recent form gives the departure a slightly harsher backdrop. Oxford have won one and lost four of their last five matches, and they have been outscored 9-2 across those games. That does not change the main point of the story, though. Fazackerley is leaving after a long spell, but he is not shutting the door on helping Oxford again, even if the day-to-day role has gone.