Oxford United boss Matt Bloomfield has urged his side not to “get too emotional” in the Championship relegation battle after their win at Preston North End.

Goals from Michal Helik, Will Lankshear and Ciaron Brown helped secure a 3-1 victory for Oxford at Deepdale, with Milutin Osmajic scoring Preston’s only goal.

And Oxford were the better side on Friday, producing 1.74 expected goals (xG) from 15 shots to Preston’s 0.93 from 13 attempts.

While also halting Preston’s play-off ambitions, Oxford moved themselves out of the relegation zone, with West Brom slipping into the bottom three.

Bloomfield was delighted with the victory, and the performance, but admitted they could have scored more goals.

Bloomfield told Sky Sports: “I was really pleased with the performance. Back-to-back wins for the first time in over a year, the lads are enjoying it.

Three important points secured!

#OUFC | FT: 1 – 3 pic.twitter.com/nPzdocIKQw

— Oxford United (@OUFCOfficial) March 6, 2026

“I thought we left a couple of goals out there to be honest, we created some good opportunities, but you can’t be too greedy.

“We showed enjoyment and freshness which was really pleasing. Set-pieces are crucial for us, but I thought we created decent opportunities from open play as well.

“We know the task in hand. We have been chasing ever since I have been here.

“We don’t want to get too emotional about the situation, we want to focus on the performances and then hopefully we’ll be able to enjoy more nights like this.”

And goalscorer Lankshear added: “I think we have played well for the majority of the season and tonight epitomised the spirit and the fight we have shown.

“It’s massive, we have failed to put back-to-back performances in and it’s something we have worked towards. We need to put in performances in all the remaining 10 games.”