OXFORD United’s new-look board have money to invest in a bid to achieve their big plans, but incoming director Zaki Nuseibeh stressed it will not come at the expense of trampling fan traditions.

Reaching the Sky Bet Championship and finding a solution to issues surrounding the Kassam Stadium are among the areas the U’s are looking into as part of the group’s long-term goals.

The 33-year-old financier’s appointment was confirmed last week, alongside German-born entrepreneur Horst Geicke.

Other directors are expected to be unveiled shortly as chairman Sumrith ‘Tiger’ Thanakarnjanasuth’s strategy begins to take shape, seven months after buying the club.

So far detail has been thin on the ground, although more could become clear when the United owner speaks to fans at a forum on Saturday.

Nuseibeh, who worked with Tiger during the Thai businessman’s time at Reading, has high hopes about what can be achieved.

He said: “We are going to be talking about our plans going forward in a bit more detail.

“But for now we would certainly say the plans are there to spend money in a wise way, where it’s needed to help the club go forward in the long-term.

“That could mean spending it on football, or making Oxford as a club be better run.

“Professionalism is something you need to have in any organisation.

“If we are to aim high and take this up to the Championship and beyond, we have to have this mentality.

“But at the same time we are conscious of keeping traditions in place.

“We will listen to the fans.”

He added: “Buying into a football club cannot only be about money – in fact most business people will tell you that you lose money in a football club.

“If you want to talk in a pure business sense you can’t think of that in isolation.

“You have to be passionate about football and think about what it does to the community in Oxford. You have to think about the fans.

“This is not about shareholders, it’s about stakeholders – if you don’t think about them you’ll get nowhere.”

Any long-term planning will have to include where United play, with a succession of owners having tried but failed to agree a change in the arrangements at the Kassam Stadium.

Nuseibeh said: “It’s a challenging problem which we will try our best to address.

“We have to think long-term and we have to think what’s in the best interest of the club.

“It’s not an issue we will just sleep on, we will try to be proactive and find a solution that’s reasonable.”

In the short-term, the biggest issue is United’s position second bottom in the Sky Bet League One table.

Boss Karl Robinson wants to recruit free agent Nicky Maynard to bolster attacking resources which have been depleted by injuries.

Nuseibeh said: “We’re not going to be blind that there are issues at the moment which we’ll try to address.

“We will listen to what the manager has in his head and we will try to do what’s best for the club.”

ZAKI Nuseibeh has reiterated a core pillar of Oxford United’s strategy is to capitalise on the city’s global reputation.

Elevating the club’s profile has been a common theme since Sumrith ‘Tiger’ Thanakarnjanasuth bought the club in February.

This summer saw a sponsorship deal with Thai firm Singha, whose representative Pavin Bhirombhakdi felt the ‘Oxford brand’ would resonate through south-east Asia.

But Nuseibeh, who studied for a postgraduate qualification at Oxford University, believes the club’s horizons should be set even wider.

He said: “Oxford is a great city. We all know about its history and how famous it is.

“We believe the fame should be reflected in the football club.

“We genuinely believe it’s under-utilised, the brand is not where it should be. I’m not talking about the UK only, but internationally.

“You look at the club and what the city represents and our vision of translating what that famous brand says into the club and taking this globally.

“That’s really what we want to try and do.”

He added: “We don’t want to be a club just recognised in England. We want to be famous outside as well.”

And there is a wide range of aspects to focus on.

He said: “There are basic things we have to think about outside business to make anything successful.

“That includes people, professionalism, conduct, identity, recognition and taking the club to the next level.”