Oxford United Chairman Sumrith 'Tiger' Thanakarnjanasuth wrote the following notes for the programme as the U's play Morecambe in Sky Bet League One:
Good afternoon everyone and thank you for coming to see us take on Morecambe. I am so happy to say that I should be able to join you on Tuesday and be here in person; I miss being with my Oxford family and hope to be able to get to more games this season after travel restrictions caused by Covid are finally lifted.
I watch every game, often at 3am in Thailand, and on a Tuesday night I don’t sleep when we play! I think a few other people also had a sleepless night after we lost to Lincoln this week, but that is because people care so much and want to get things right. That will happen. There is a long way to go and so many games. We have the talent and the work ethic, and I am confident that results will start to come our way soon, hopefully starting today.
I speak to Karl a lot and know he was hurt by the last two results. You know him, he wears his heart on his sleeve and is very open about his feelings. I talked to him after the Lincoln game and he was so frustrated about the result, but not the effort from the players. That is always a good starting point, and I thought the work they put in was exceptional, certainly in the second half where we were so on top and all of the game was in the Lincoln half. If we scored a second, we would win that game, I am sure.
Our two Marcuses had very different evenings. I thought Marcus McGuane was outstanding, his best game for the club and one of the best individual games I have seen during my time here. His new position suits him and dare I say I think there is even more to come from him? Marcus Browne, on the other hand, limped off and it looks as though he will be out for a while.
He was just starting to find his rhythm and we all know that he can be one of the most dangerous players in this division. So can Yanic Wildschut, Josh Murphy and Sam Baldock. To be without those four attacking players would hurt any team and we will work with Karl to make sure he can bring in other options if he needs to.
Off the pitch, this week we will say goodbye to Dan Harris our Academy Manager, and I wanted to thank him for everything he has done for the club. Dan has put very solid foundations in place for the future development of young players from across Oxfordshire. He has built a fantastic team of staff who share his high standards and I want to thank him, personally, for his friendship and honesty. He leaves us in good shape and will always be welcome here.
Enjoy the game,
Tiger
You can read the full programme online at www.matchdayfix.com/oufc