FORMER Oxford United boss Michael Appleton has backed Des Buckingham to bounce back strongly after the U’s were heavily beaten at Bolton Wanderers.

Appleton, who was in charge of United between July 2014 and June 2017, secured promotion to the third tier with the side, while reaching two EFL Trophy finals.

The 48-year-old was on punditry duty for Sky Sports, as the U’s were trounced 5-0 by the Trotters.

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He said: “Keep thinking forward and keep looking forward. He’s touched on that they’ve got two big games coming up that they want to take maximum points from.

“From his point of view, you have to have the Superman effect. The reality is that if the players see you in a positive frame of mind, with a positive attitude, looking forward, having a plan, and knowing what you’re going to do, you’ve got a better chance.

“It’ll be a tough night for him, and you can tell that was tough for him. It’s hard, those types of defeats, but I think he’ll come strong through it.”

Appleton was joined in the studio by Stevenage boss Steve Evans. He said: “Different managers have different ways. I’ve always managed my career in one way – who motivates the motivator? The manager.

“The manager motivates himself. The chairman isn’t going to be ringing and saying good things, is he?

“Des has to understand what went wrong. He spoke about putting it right on the training ground. They’ve got top players, absolute top players, and they should be in the top group at the end of the season.”