JOHN Mousinho will fight for his place at Oxford United – and put plans to become a player/coach on hold.

The skipper was given a decision to make over the summer about his future.

U’s boss Karl Robinson told Mousinho he was likely to be a fringe player next season and offered the 33-year-old a role which involved more coaching.

The captain weighed up the plan, but flies out with the rest of the squad for their pre-season training camp in Portugal today determined to prove he can still be a regular.

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Robinson said: “He wants to fight for his place, so that’s fine.

“Whether he wins that fight, that’s down to his performance levels and that’s where we are.

“There’s no trip wire, no secret games to be played.

“There’s transparency between all of us. We know where we stand and he knows where he stands.

“He’s a top man and he will be on the plane to Portugal as a player.”

Mousinho, who has made 87 appearances since joining the U’s in 2017, played an influential role last term after moving into midfield from the centre of defence.

An appearance-related clause triggered a 12-month extension to his contract, but Robinson said his captain was not yet ready to take on his player/coach plan.

“He wants to leave that,” said the U’s boss. “I think he wants to concentrate on being fit.

“He said if he was to cross reference the two and fight for the place, it would be hard.

“So he wants to commit himself 100 per cent to his job.”