Spurs loan watch: Frustrating day for Tottenham pair

Both Tottenham Hotspur youngsters Dane Scarlett and Ashley Phillips remained on the bench as unused substitutes as Oxford United got the better of Stoke City in a narrow 1-0 win, in an early kick-off at The Kassam Stadium in the Championship today.

Phillips had put in two really good performances for Stoke City before the international break, keeping two clean sheets in two games, but manager Steven Schumacher with a central defensive partnership of captain Ben Gibson and Ben Wilmot, as he opted for experience over youth this time around.

Alarm bells shouldn't ring just yet for Phillips, but today proved to be more of the same as far as Scarlett is concerned.

Both Ashley Phillips and Dane Scarlett on the bench today

This is the second game in a row that the young forward has been an unused substitute for, and the third league game in a row. In fact, Scarlett still only has eight minutes in the Championship so far this season, despite having been an Oxford player for four out of their five games so far.

He did score for England U20 during the international break, but otherwise, it has been a very frustrating start to the 24/25 season.

This result leaves Oxford 7th in the Championship, just one place off a play-off birth, despite being a newly promoted team - who are playing their first Championship campaign in a quarter of a century. Meanwhile, the result leaves Stoke in 13th place, as they begin their first full season with Schumacher in the dugout.

Next up for Oxford is a trip to the South West to play Bristol City, where City manager Liam Manning will face his former club since leaving for City last season. As for Stoke, it is a home game against League Two side Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup, a competition where Phillips made his debut for the club last month, receiving several plaudits for his performance.