Oxford United interim manager Craig Short has admitted Leeds United loanee Sonny Perkins has been lacking confidence due to his lack of game time.
Short was speaking to oufc.co.uk, via Yorkshire Evening Post, following Oxford’s 5-0 win over Chelsea U21s in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night.
Perkins netted his first goal for the club since moving from Leeds on loan in the summer, with the 19-year-old having endured an extremely difficult start to life at Oxford.
Having been left out of the last eight League One matchday squads, Perkins has played just three minutes of league football, which has prevented him from showing what he can do.
However, with manager Liam Manning having left for Bristol City, Perkins could benefit from a fresh start and his first goal for the club last night will have done him no harm.
Short says Perkins has been lacking confidence
Speaking on Perkins’ situation and performance against Chelsea, Short admitted that the Leeds loanee has lost some of his confidence after playing considerably less than he would’ve hoped.
“Sonny tired at the end but it was nice for him to get a goal. I’m sure he’s lacking a bit of confidence as he’ll have been expecting to play.”
Oxford sit second in League One and had an excellent start to the season under Manning but his exit may leave Perkins feeling a little relieved from a personal perspective.
Once a new manager comes in, Perkins will have a clean slate to show what he can do in training and a goal in his first start since September should’ve handed him a confidence boost.
Hopefully this can be the catalyst to kick starting his season as everyone at Leeds knows what he can do based on his U21s performances, and handful of first team appearances.
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