Following Saturday's FA Cup second round defeat at Torquay United, Oxford have decided to call time on Darren Patterson's managerial reign. Patto took the reins from Jim Smith in November 2007, and they have now been handed back to Smith, who is stepping in as caretaker until a permanent replacement can be found.[@manager]patterson, darren[/@manager]

In many ways it's a shame that Patterson has been axed. He is still less than half-way through his first full season in charge of the club, in his first proper management role, and on a very steep learning curve. It is inevitable that would be making mistakes. The problem at Oxford is that the club is ill-equipped, financially, to be able to carry a learner and to live with his mistakes. We have no doubt that in time Patto is going to be a very successful manager, and we're sorry that it is now highly unlikely to be with Oxford United. We wish Darren all the best wherever he ends up.

One entity that does appear to be learning from mistakes of the past is Oxford United itself. While Smith and assistant manager Mickey Lewis are taking temporary charge of the team, the club has announced that it will be holding a proper recruitment process for Patto's successor, with candidates invited to apply before being shortlisted and then interviewed. One hopes that a proper list of suitable criteria has been drawn up in order to make a sensible selection. This is the first time that United have held a proper process since Denis Smith's first appointment, in 1993. Since then, including Smith's second go and the various caretaker-managers, United have employed an impressive 17 bosses – more than one a year, on average. Little wonder, really, that the club has been in the doldrums for over a decade, lacking the essential stability required for success. We wish Patto's replacement all the luck in the world, because he* is certainly going to need it.

*unless the successful applicant is a she, of course. Cherie Lunghi, where are you?