Loan watch: How things went in the second tier | OneFootball

With a full slate of EFL fixtures on Boxing Day - 36 games - there was plenty of action for Spurs loanees - including in the Championship. Dane Scarlett's Oxford United were in action at home to Cardiff City, whilst Ashley Phillips' Stoke City hosted Leeds United.

Taking a look at what happened during the Boxing Day slate

To begin, new Oxford manager Gary Rowett took charge of his first game. For this one, he left Scarlett out of the starting XI. In fairness, he was justified, as Mark Harris put them ahead just before half-time. Two goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half gave the U's a 3-0 lead against their Welsh counterparts.

Towards the end, Cardiff did stage a comeback, with goals in the 82nd and 95th minutes making it a very nervous finish, but Rowett's side were able to hold on for a hugely important 3-2 win - their first victory since the 5th of November.

As for Scarlett himself, he did remain an unused sub - but we will see how things go under the new management over the coming weeks. This big win leaves Oxford in 20th place, back outside the bottom three, with 21 points from 22 games.

Then, for the last game of the day - Phillips was back in the Stoke XI, having been on the bench for their defeat away to Sheffield Wednesday - starting in the middle of a back three. Despite the 19-year old making 12 clearances, he was unable to help his side to a result - with Leeds coming away as 2-0 winners.

This defeat leaves the Potters in 19th place, with 22 points from 23 games. It proved to be enough for the Stoke hierarchy, who have since moved to relieve manager Narcis Pelach of his duties. Having sacked previous manager Steven Schumacher back in September, Phillips will be on his third manager of the season - with Scarlett now also on his second manager of the campaign.

That is, unless he is recalled by Spurs in January - with there already being such talk. The defensive situation seems to continue to get worse - even though it doesn't feel possible to do so. There have been shouts to bring Luka Vuskovic to the club in January - but rules state that he cannot join the club until the summer - when he will have turned 18.

Next up for Oxford is a home game against Plymouth Argyle on Sunday (the 29th, as we all loose track of time in this final week of the year). On the same day, Stoke host Sunderland. Both games kick off at 15:00 GMT.