Oxford United Chairman Sumrith 'Tiger' Thanakarnjanasuth writes the following in the Luton Town programme:
Good evening everyone and thank you for coming to tonight’s game against Luton Town. I am well aware that there is only one rivalry for most Oxford fans but this fixture had also built up a healthy respect and history over the last few years, so it should be another big night to follow up last week’s fantastic game against Manchester City.
I thought we showed the world what this club is all about. OK, on the pitch things went against us but most people expected that. We played very well and with 15 minutes left were still in the game, but City are so clever in the way they exploit space and the moment we tried to chase the game they picked us off with two quick goals. There is no shame in that defeat and it was great experience for the players who will learn a lot from playing against that quality of opposition.
The team off the pitch also excelled. I want to thank all the staff for the work they did in the build-up and on matchday. I will not make a list for fear of missing someone out but from top to bottom the staff, helpers and volunteers did a superb job and I hope helped everyone enjoy their evening. Can I also thank the fans, because I thought the atmosphere and the spectacle were first class as well. It really brought home to me what this club means to you all and I am very proud to be taking responsibility for building a club you can be so proud of.
That will take time but we are making progress in all areas and there have been some very encouraging meetings in the last week or two with fan groups and with local councillors which we think may open up some very exciting possibilities for us. I am sure that more will come out about that in the next few days but all I can say right now is that we are getting great support and working so hard to build a better Oxford United.
Of course, we live in the present and losing at Wimbledon on Saturday hurt us all. I saw the game in Thailand and although we didn’t play well at the start we definitely deserved something over the 90 minutes. It was the middle of the night for me but I could not sleep for a long time after. I was in touch with Karl, Shaun and Faz and I spoke to a few people around the club; I don’t think my wife appreciated me ringing people at 4.30am actually! But I wanted to talk about the match and just make sure everyone didn’t get too down; these people care passionately about this club and I know that defeats hurt them deeply. That is a great starting point and why I know that results will turn for us. Clearly, we are not in the position we wanted to be, but we will stay positive, keep our heads up and I strongly believe we will turn things around together. With that last word the key one: Together.
Tiger
You can read the full programme online at www.matchdayfix.com/oufc