BRIAN Howard’s situation at Oxford United is unclear after head coach Michael Appleton admitted he did not know whether the midfielder would be offered an extension to his short-term contract.

The 31-year-old has made eight appearances since signing in September, but has not played in the past four weeks.

On Tuesday night he was an unused substitute, despite United lacking attacking options and chasing the game as they lost 2-1 to Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup.

It raised questions about where Howard, whose contract expires in January, fitted in to Appleton’s plans.

  • Latest United news:

When asked if the former Barnsley and Reading man had a future beyond the end of this month, the U’s boss said: “I don’t know and I said that to him about two weeks ago.

“We had a discussion about it and I felt it was too early.

“What I did say was if I felt it was as a ‘no’ I would tell him as early as I possibly could.

“I’ve worked with him before and he was my captain at Portsmouth, so I’ve got no issues with him from that regard, but we’ve got to make sure the balance is right come January.

“We will have a look at it and come up with the right solution for everyone.”

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.