Leicester failed to produce bare minimum in Oxford thrashing - Souttar
September 7, 2026 09:29
Leicester City suffered a 4-0 home defeat by Oxford United in League One, a result captain Harry Souttar described as players failing to produce the "bare minimum" and for which they "have got to take responsibility". The loss ranks as the club's worst league result in history, having never been beaten by such a margin when so far down the divisions.
PLAYER RESPONSE
Souttar, speaking to BBC Radio Leicester, criticised Leicester's competitiveness: "It doesn't matter what kind of football you want to play - if you don't compete in the game, if you don't win duels, you don't win tackles, you don't win headers, then you're not going to give yourself a chance in the game." He added that while the team played "some OK stuff" in the first half, they "didn't compete", that was raised at half-time and "in the second half that cutting edge wasn't there, and that's solely down to the players." "I think that's the bare minimum and we fell below that. We've got to take responsibility for that."
CONTEXT
The defeat intensified fan anger and "raised doubts about the future of head coach Russell Martin", with former Leicester forward Matt Piper calling it a "sackable performance" on BBC Radio Leicester. Martin's possession-focused style has faced criticism and been described by some as "passing teams to death." Against Oxford, Souttar started in a backline that included goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and Luke Thomas, alongside youngsters Jayden Joseph (20) and Manchester City loanee Christian McFarlane. Five of Leicester's starting XI were under the age of 22, after the club moved on multiple high-profile players over the summer, including Harry Winks, Jannik Vestergaard and Jordan Ayew.
Souttar's own position at the club was noted in the aftermath: he remained with Leicester following back-to-back relegations despite transfer interest from Championship clubs after featuring at the World Cup, has stepped up as captain in the new-look side under Martin and had been called on only five times by Leicester in the past three seasons due to prior injury and limited opportunities.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Leicester are next in action on Saturday against Stockport County, who sit third in the table and are coming off a 4-0 win against Wigan Athletic.
Source: BBC Sport Football