Jerome Sale, Oxford United commentator on BBC Radio Oxford
When the team had won just once in 15 games, it may seem strange to speak of the utter shock that swept through Oxfordshire in the moments following the news.
It’s not that Des Buckingham was the local guy, or even the one who took Oxford into the Championship for the first time in 25 years.
I made the call when, of the approximately 100 calls, texts and social media comments we received after Oxford’s home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, a total of one called for a change of manager.
Relegation has always been and remains a possibility for a club that almost surprised itself by winning the League One play-offs on a late-season charge.
At first I thought the fans were happy just being in the Championship – the club clearly isn’t.
