Darren Patterson was relieved of his duties because of poor results. Did it ever cross your mind to do the same to Mick Brown over the points saga?

Not at all.

Not being in charge of the club at the time the incident happened, it allowed me to sit back and have a very careful look at how the club go about the registering of players and just how the points deduction came about.

I feel that the initial registering of a player and more importantly, ensuring that a player is correctly registered, should not be the responsibility of one person.

The club have now changed the proceedures we have in place which ensures that at least two people check that everything has been done correctly and then ensure that a registeration has been received.

Do you feel Mick should have made a public apology for his error – surely that would have gone down well with fans?

No. I feel that the club apologised for the error and that an individual did not need to.

Everyone who knows Mick Brown would have known and understood exactly what he was going through at that time and how the matter would have affected him.

If Oxford United miss out on the play-offs by five points or less, would you understand the anger many fans would feel towards the club for their administrative error?

Yes, of course I would and I would feel the same.

What I would say, however, is that I think the club does deserve a lot of credit for getting into the current league position.

I don’t think that many people expected that we would be where we are now and I would like to think people would give the club and manager plenty of credit for giving people this hope.

Have you discussed a playing budget with Chris Wilder for next season? If so, is it more or less than this season?

Yes, plenty of discussions have already taken place with Chris on this subject.

We have not finalised an exact figure as yet, but the encouraging thing is that Chris has already shown everyone what he can do within a certain budget.

He certainly has a very realistic idea of what players are worth in this league.

I see the budget reducing naturally next season, but it will allow us more flexibility later in the year.

Are all the players on loan registered to play for Oxford should we reach the play-off finals? If not, why not?

Yes. All the loan signings can all play should we get there.

Is a rolling contract – the deal Chris Wilder has – of mutual benefit, or should we not give him a long-term deal now?

It is of mutual benefit.

Both the club and Chris are more than happy with the deal we have.

People should not confuse a rolling contract with any insecurity – it most certainly is not.

Will the Oxford United youth team continue as it has over previous years? It appears that it costs around £400,000 to run and most products of the last few seasons did not have a future at the club?

The figure quoted is incorrect.

However, there are discussions continuing about how to improve our youth structure and the financial implications of that.

There has been a lot of money spent on supporting youth development over the past few years since the Football League funding ran out, and efforts continue to promote the youth development programme as much as possible.

However, we have to be realistic and the manager has to make decisions that are not clouded by whether a player is a product of the youth system or a local lad.

We do not have the luxury of allowing players time when they turn professional to develop.

That is a weakness of our system and the perception of it, but it is a realistic picture of where we are at.

Is there a reason why a fans’ forum has not been forthcoming?

This is a very difficult topic.

I like to think that supporters think of me as a very open chairman who communicates with them as much as is commercially sensible.

We have some exciting plans here and I would love to share those with fans, but the timing has to be right.

There is a pressure to have a fans’ forum, but I am reminded that it has to be a worthwhile experience for it to be of benefit.

What I do not want to do is sit at the front of a room, be asked lots of good questions by supporters and be unable to give a proper answer to them – that is of no benefit to them or me.

I have said before that we are looking at dates, and I was hoping to orgainse one at the start of the year, but I really needed things to fall into place to do this.

And unfortunately, it has not not quite happened how I hoped it might.

Are you happy in your job?

You’re always happy when you are winning!

As with everything, there are plenty of ups and downs and different challenges, but overall I think things are pretty exciting.

Do you have any regrets of decisions you have made during your time in charge?

I’m not one to have regrets. What I will say, however, is that every decision I make will be thought about properly and will be made in the club’s best interests.

How do you relax away from football?

Watching football.

Football is in my blood. My grandfather played professionally for Crystal Palace and Fulham, while my cousin played for Millwall, Colchester, among others.

I played non-League myself, and nearly signed for Woking, but moved to America instead!

What is your favourite meal?

A Sunday roast – with lamb if possible!