The Oxford United chairman Sumrith 'Tiger' Thanakarnjanasuth wrote these notes for the Portsmouth programme:
Good afternoon everyone and thank you for coming to see us take on league leaders Portsmouth. The away area sold out weeks ago and we know they are going to be loud and passionate, so with our own fans getting behind us there promises to be a great backdrop to what I am sure will be a very good game of football. I flew in this morning and can’t wait to watch the game with you.
On the football side of things, we showed courage at Fleetwood last week to come back from two goals down and get a draw away from home. I watch every game and can see the players sticking together - I was able to watch us go through in the Checkatrade Trophy at Cheltenham as well and will hopefully be able to extend my stay and travel up to Bury on Tuesday for the next round. Two games from Wembley? That is a good place to be.
The league is more important and the last few weeks have all been about trying to develop and build the team for the second half of the season. As we went to press for the programme we were close to signing one new player and have been closing in on another. Sometimes we cannot win. The first player is a midfield player and I am sure fans will scream ‘where is the new striker’! Sometimes things cannot happen in the perfect order, and it is not a case of signing just one. We strengthen one position but will also do all we can to add firepower up front, as quickly as possible.
I must also, as Chairman, mention here the incident with Gavin Whyte last weekend. Gavin is a quiet and respectful young man who did something very out of character and will have to live with the consequences. As a club we have been strong and reminded him what we expect of him. It was wrong and we have dealt with it and we move on.
Behind the scenes, there were reports of another unpaid bill to HMRC. That is not entirely the truth. We had spoken to them and agreed a payment schedule - the bill was settled on Wednesday as agreed - but certain procedures had to be followed and so a report was published and I totally understand the concerns that supporters had. We continue to work very hard to do the right thing for the future of this football club and I am pleased to be part of a new idea that will feature me, Karl and Niall McWilliams answering your questions each week on BBC Oxford.
Finally I want to congratulate our youth team for a fantastic run in the FA Youth Cup that finally ended against Bournemouth on Wednesday night. They must not concentrate on that one match, they must look back at a season where they won the league and went further than any Oxford team in 20 years. They have a very bright future ahead of them.
Tiger
You can read the full programme online at www.matchdayfix.com/oufc