SWINDON Town’s relegation may have been celebrated by many Oxford United fans, but head coach Michael Appleton felt it was a shame to lose the derby clashes next season.

The Robins’ fate was sealed when a 2-1 home defeat to Scunthorpe United was combined with Bury’s 3-0 win against Northampton Town.

It means next season will be the first time since the 1987/88 campaign the U’s will be playing in a higher division than their rivals.

Appleton is well aware Town’s failure will have been celebrated, but after guiding his side to a 2-0 home win in September and a 2-1 success at the County Ground in February, the U’s boss will miss the derbies.

He said: “They are great games. We’ve got a couple of Oxford United fans on the staff who are delighted, as you can imagine.

“But from my point of view we’ve had two fantastic games against them this year and taken six points off them.

“It’s a shame, but it’s not my problem.”