DES Buckingham believes the foundations are already in place for Oxford United as they prepare for Sky Bet Championship football next season.

The U’s beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in the League One play-off final at Wembley, as Josh Murphy’s brace fired the team back to the second tier for the first time in 25 years.

Work behind the scenes to get the club fully ready for the Championship will no doubt get underway soon, and head coach Buckingham feels the side is already in a solid starting position.

U’s boss: ‘We’ll do as much as we can to try and keep Josh here’

He said: “The foundations are certainly there. The ambition of the owners, the chairman and the CEO, and everyone at that level, is the reason that I came back.

“The vision for the club in the short-term, and certainly the long-term, and whether we may have arrived there a little bit sooner than we thought, but the foundations are there, and the club are ready for it.

“It’s now about making sure we plan and make everything as good as we can before the start of next season.”

Buckingham added: “It’s been some journey the last six months, but a really enjoyable one, and it’s a really nice to way to finish off what’s been a good season.

“It’ll take a couple of days, but we’ll enjoy those days, and then we’ll get back in and do the work that’s needed to get us ready.”