Oxford United boss Karl Robinson believes League One will be 'better' next season with the likes of Bolton Wanderers and the sides relegated from the Championship among the teams vying to contest at the top of the division.
The line-up for the third tier of English football for the 2022/23 campaign is almost completed. Next weekend's League Two play-off final between Port Vale and Mansfield Town will see the victors join a highly competitive division next season.
Wanderers finished ninth in the campaign which has recently concluded and are among several ex-Premier League teams in the division. Ipswich Town, Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic are just three others.
READ MORE: 'Felt it for a few years' - Bolton star's West Ham United admission & international ambitions
In the play-offs, Sunderland were promoted to the Championship after victory over Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley. MK Dons and Sheffield Wednesday reached the top six and will be in League One again next season, while Derby County, Barnsley and Peterborough United were relegated from the Championship.
Plymouth Argyle and Robinson's Oxford missed out on the play-offs too having been contenders until late in the campaign. Though Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United have been promoted too, League One remains a challenging prospect next campaign.
And despite the high standard that was seen this campaign, with a total of 83 points needed to reach the play-offs, U's boss Robinson believes League One will be an even better division next season. He believes Ian Evatt's side are among a big group of teams which will have their sights set at the upper echelons of the league.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Robinson said: “The league’s going to be better. Ipswich, Charlton, Portsmouth and Bolton will have a go.
“Three of that four (who reached the play-offs) are still going to be in this league with Derby County, Barnsley and Peterborough coming down (from the Championship). I only foresee it getting harder to try to stay in the top ten and that’s something we’ve got to be better at as well.
“There are some big teams in the top seven of the league below so they’re only going to make the league stronger. This year the bottom part of the league was so disconnected.
“We always say 50 points is the benchmark so if this (the promotion race) gets stronger, that gets lower.
“I don’t think it’s so much about the top teams, I think it’s about how strong the league is from top to bottom and that’s what balances out the averages.
“That’s where the averages will hopefully come down, because it’s going to be hard.”
Wanderers have added one new signing already with the acquisition of defender Jack Iredale from Cambridge United. More incomings are sought and Whites boss Evatt would like to have his squad fundamentally in place by the start of pre-season training.
The Bolton squad report back to Lostock on June 17, before flying out to Portugal for a pre-season training camp a few days later. The EFL fixture release date is Thursday, June 23.
