Ex-Wellington Phoenix head coach and Melbourne City assistant Des Buckingham has made himself a local hero after guiding hometown club Oxford United to promotion to the EFL Championship.
For the first time in 25 years, Oxford are back in England’s second tier following a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in front of 70,000 fans at Wembley in their League One play-off.
Buckingham, who worked as as assistant, caretaker coach and then head coach at the Phoenix in the Isuzu UTE A-League in 2016-17 before serving as an assistant and caretaker coach at Melbourne City in 2020-21, was appointed by struggling Oxford in November.
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The 39-year-old – the youngest ever Isuzu UTE A-League coach when he was appointed by Wellington in 2017 – arrived with Oxford having only won two of 12 games but he oversaw a drastic turnaround as they club qualified for the promotion play-offs.
Buckingham actually began his coaching career at Oxford when he was 18 and the Englishman was emotional after the club summed up the achievement as “one of the most extraordinary seasons” in their history.
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“For Des Buckingham, it’s an incredible ending to his first season in the dugout. Taking over in November, the head coach has now continued his success from New Zealand, Australia and India to bring more glory to his hometown club,” Oxford also said.
Buckingham, who won the Indian Super League Shield with Mumbai City in 2022, said: “To put it into words, I simply can’t.
“Anyone that supports a Club when they’re successful knows what it means. I’ve shared that moment, not just with the fans, but most of my family are in the stands.
“The last time I was here, I watched James Constable, Matt Green and Alfie Potter score the goals that brought us back into the Football League in 2010 as a fan. So, to experience what I just have as the manager of this Football Club from the sideline is a very special moment.”
He added: “The last six months have been a whirlwind. I spent nine years overseas so it’s not just been about taking a job back in the English Football League, it’s about proving that you can coach at this level, firstly to the players and to the fans and thirdly to everyone else that’s in this level of football.
“There is that additional pressure because you know what it means to people and you also live in the area. You can’t walk anywhere around Oxford without someone coming to tell you what they think – good or bad!
“When we beat Peterborough the other day, I had somebody run across the street and I won’t share the language he used but he was very happy with the performance!”
Buckingham, who attended the Conference Premier play-off final against York City as an Oxford fan in 2010, said: “I left the hotel this morning and you say to yourself, ‘when I walk back into this hotel room, you’re either going to be a League One manager or a Championship manager’.
“I’ll go to sleep tonight very content and very happy and when I wake up, I’ll hope it wasn’t a dream.”
“This club means so much to so many people,” he continued. “I’m so proud to lead this team. When you come in it takes time and I’m grateful to the club for giving us that time. In true Oxford fashion, we’ll go up the hard way, but it’s the best way to do it.
“The vision of the club when I came back was they wanted to be a Championship club. We are ready for that and the foundations and the backing is certainly there. I’ll keep trying to take us forwards.
“I’m going to enjoy myself. Tonight, I’ll spend time with family. They’ve travelled up in their droves and it’s cost me a fortune in tickets!”
