DES Buckingham is delighted with how well Cameron Brannagan has adjusted to a new role in the Oxford United midfield.

For the last three games, U’s head coach Buckingham has opted to use Brannagan as a single six in midfield, with two attacking midfielders in front of him.

At Port Vale and Shrewsbury Town, those two players were Billy Bodin and Ruben Rodrigues, while Tyler Goodrham came in for Bodin as United breezed to a 4-0 win at home to Fleetwood Town on Easter Monday.

Brannagan has taken to his new position like the proverbial duck to water, and was able to score and claim an assist against the Cod Army.

READ ALSO: Former U’s favourite says ‘never say never’ to return in the future

Asked about the tweak to Brannagan’s role, Buckingham responded: “I’m really happy with the position. He’s almost, if you’re an American football fan, like a quarterback, where he can sit and screen defensively, but his range of passing and what he’s able to bring to the team with the ball really opens things up, especially with how expansive we want to play.

“We’ve seen teams try and combat that, whether it’s trying to stop him getting on the ball and screening him, or as they did at Shrewsbury where they literally man-marked him for the full game.

“Wherever he went, others went. It’s about recognising that if he is man-marked, it’s important other players take advantage of the space that he creates.

“That role is one he’s adapted to very well, and one he’s played before, and he’s used to, but now it’s making him comfortable in what we want to do, whilst also making sure others are aware that if there’s a chance to give him the ball, we can and we will.

“If we can’t, we need to take advantage of the spaces that open up for us.”

As evidenced against Fleetwood, the new position hasn’t nullified Brannagan’s natural attacking intentions, and he still has the licence to roam forward.

Buckingham cautioned though that when that is the case, the rest of the team is switched on to avoid the risk of being caught out on the counter-attack.

“With the way we want to play, we need some rotation and fluidity rather than being a very rigid middle three,” said Buckingham.

“It’s important that when he steps forward, we do have some balance in that midfield. We’re always at risk of transition, but it’s making sure that when he does step up, we have a solid and clear understanding of what our defence behind him are doing, to make sure we don’t get hit on the transition.”