DES Buckingham has addressed the decision to rest Marcus McGuane, as Oxford United were beaten at Bristol Rovers.

McGuane was a surprise omission from the starting XI, with Josh McEachran starting in his place.

Prior to yesterday’s game, McGuane ranked third in United’s squad for minutes played in Sky Bet League One, behind Elliott Moore and Ciaron Brown.

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U’s head coach Buckingham highlighted the amount of game time McGuane has played, as a reason for leaving him out of the starting line-up.

He said: “We’ve got Josh, Marcus and Cam [Cameron Brannagan], and Oisin [Smyth] is in there as well, and Jamo [James Henry], who’s been in and around the squad since I came in.

“Both Cam and Marcus have played pretty much 95 per cent of the minutes together for this time, in every single game since I’ve been here, and before I got here.

“At times, with the way we felt this game would set up, we felt it would be a good opportunity for Josh, with his passing range, to have a little bit more impact in that space.

“It’s about making sure we utilise the skillset of our squad, because we can’t continue to rely on the same players every week. For Marcus, we know the qualities he has.”