OXFORD United chairman Grant Ferguson says that head coach Des Buckingham is happy with his backroom staff, following some confusion earlier in the year.

In January, U’s chief executive Tim Williams revealed in a statement published on the club website that academy coach Chris Hackett would assume the role of Buckingham’s assistant.

Hackett had been supporting the first team since Buckingham was appointed head coach in November, with coaching staff numbers light following Liam Manning’s exit to Bristol City.

Manning took with him his assistant Chris Hogg, plus first team coach analyst James Krause, to Ashton Gate.

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A search for Buckingham’s assistant hit different snags, and in the aftermath of Williams announcing Hackett as the man for the job, Buckingham suggested the statement had ‘probably gone a little bit too early’.

Hackett has now though joined United’s first team coaching staff for the remainder of the season, and Ferguson touched upon the situation when speaking to BBC Radio Oxford’s The Dub podcast.

He said: “If Des needs more support, he’ll be the first to tell me. He’s not slow about coming forward, but what he tells me at the moment is that he’s now got the team around him that he was looking for.

“I did see some talk about the lack of support when he first came in, and why did it take so long to make decisions around his backroom staff.

“Des came in with very clear ideas. He knew who he wanted in his team. We spent a lot of time approaching a coach that he wanted, but it turned out that it didn’t work out for personal reasons.

“The guy really wanted to join, but the personal reasons didn’t work. In the meantime, Des talked to two or three others, who were all credible candidates, but at the same time, he had started working with the coaching staff.

“He came to us and said that if Chris Hackett is available until the end of the season, then I’m quite happy with what I’ve got.”

Oxford Mail:

Following the confusion surrounding Hackett, and the clarity of his role, Buckingham said in a later interview: “What I’ve really enjoyed is how well Lewis Price, Craig Short, Chris Hackett and myself have started working together.

“That’s the reason for asking Chris to stay on in that first team environment. There are people we could go after, and people we could try and bring in, but reflecting and taking time to look at the skillset that he brings, he complements what we already have.

“It was my decision in bringing Chris in, and making sure he was okay to do what we were asking him to do for the remainder of the season. He’s happy with that, and I think it’s an excellent link with the academy as well.”