The worst kept secret in football was finally confirmed this morning, with the announcement that Graham Rix has been appointed to manage Oxford United on a temporary basis. Rix has been scouting for Watford recently, but hasn’t had a proper job in football since his sacking by Portsmouth a couple of seasons ago. He has been brought in initially while Firoz Kassam continues his investigation into Ian Atkins alleged poaching by Bristol Rovers. Atkins remains suspended indefinitely.

Rix took charge of first team training for the first time this morning, and early signs have been encouraging. He has been overheard telling the players to keep the ball on the floor. Obviously it remains to be seen whether or not Rix is given the post on a longer-term basis, but one thing that appears pretty certain is that Atkins has managed his last match for United. It seems pretty apt that his final game was a home win over Cheltenham, which is where he came in of course.

Atkins’s position is less certain, with the announcement today that Bristol Rovers have appointed Kevin Broadhurst and Russel Osman to look after the team until the end of the season. The whole saga, weird enough already, gets another bizarre twist with unconfirmed reports that United allegedly offered Atkins to Bristol Rovers, with no compensation required, on Thursday, the day before the Gas press release. However, that might just be scurrilous rumour-mongering, and we don’t want to be accused of that.