Oxford United confirm Des Buckingham as new head coach

Buckingham joins from City Football Group-owned Mumbai City and has signed a long-term contract with the club.

His coaching team has yet to be announced but the club has said it will be confirmed in due course.

It is understood that the club agreed a compensation with Mumbai City for the services of 38-year-old Buckingham who is Oxford-born.

Chairman Grant Ferguson said: “I couldn’t be happier that Des has agreed to become our new Head Coach.

"His approach to coaching and developing players is a perfect match for the vision we have for the club.”

Head of recruitment, Ed Waldron said: “Des is someone we’ve been monitoring for a while.

"He’s young, highly regarded and already has a wealth of coaching experience.

“His attacking style of play and philosophy suits the squad we are building and will help this outstanding group of players continue their excellent start to the season.”

Oxford United chief executive officer, Tim Williams said: "There was a huge amount of interest in the role but, from the moment we met Des, he became our number one choice.

“We had a very clearly defined set of criteria to ensure we found the right cultural fit for Oxford United.

"Des knows the club and city already, understands what we are trying to achieve, and we feel is the right person to build on the club’s progress to date.”

Buckingham's coaching career began at United at the age of 18 as he worked through the club's age-group squads.

As a youth team player, he had spells in the youth and reserve teams at Reading as well as United but a professional career did not materialise.

Instead, he took a full-time coaching and teaching role over a four-year period at Oxford & Cherwell Valley College.

He progressed as a coach into the first team, under then-manager, Chris Wilder at the start of the 2013/14 League Two season.

The following season, Buckingham left to join the coaching staff at Australian side Wellington Phoenix where he eventually he became the youngest manager in A-League history at 31 years of age in January 2017.

He lifted the club off the bottom of the table finishing one place outside the playoffs at the end of the season.

Later that year, Buckingham took up a role at then-Premier League club Stoke City as an assistant coach with their under-23 team.

He then returned to New Zealand as head coach of the U20 and U23 teams, during which time he was also the assistant coach to the All Whites’ first team.

Most recently he won the Indian Super League (ISL) with Mumbai City putting together a record-breaking 18-match winning run.

He was appointed as the head coach of Mumbai City in October 2021 after impressing at Melbourne City, which is part of the City Football Group.

The City Football Group is a parent company of a number of clubs across the world, most notably Manchester City, and where Liam Manning previously applied his trade in his early coaching career.

Buckingham joined A-League club Melbourne City as an assistant coach in September 2020 before taking over the club and in his first season claimed their maiden A-League trophy in the team's eleven-year history.

His side went to complete the double winning their first A-League Grand Final a month later.

His move to Mumbai City saw his side become to first Indian club to win two games at Asia’s premier club football competition, the AFC Champions League in his first season.

His side finished in an unprecedented second place in the group stage, just missing out on qualification to the knockout stages.

As well the winning the league in the most recent campaign, Buckingham’s team sealed a place in the 2023 AFC Champions League group stage, the first Indian Club to secure consecutive qualification to the competition.

After the season, he penned a two-year extension with the club and in May he was voted Coach of the Year by the Indian Players Football Association.