NEW Oxford United owner Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth has been formally introduced as the club's chairman.

Having completed the long-awaited takeover of the Sky Bet League One side last Thursday, the Thai businessman met the media this morning at the Kassam Stadium.

The man known as ‘Tiger’ watched United’s 0-0 draw at Northampton Town on Saturday and paid a brief visit to see the squad ahead of the game.

But today Thanakarnjanasuth was able to explain why he has chosen to take over United.

He said: "When I first met Darryl (Eales), he showed me the city, he showed me Oxford.

"I felt first thing, Oxford is one of the world famous cities by name and when I came here I liked the city. That is the first thing that attracted me.

"After that we went to the club, we went to the training ground and I saw there was an opportunity. It means that with a strong team and if we manage well, we have a good chance.

"I have a passion for football and before here I was involved in Reading because of passion in football."

A hot topic is the vacant manager's positon, with Craig Bellamy still the  favourite for the role.

Thanakarnjanasuth revealed United are still looking at four candidates for the manager's job and is hoping for an appointment in the next 48 hours.

He added: "I think I’m very conservative. I don’t want to choose any wrong manager. I just like a manager that has some good personality, all the players accept him with some new tactics and training. 

"When I was in Reading for three years, the third year I really got involved with the performance of the team and the board because that was the consortium.

"They said one of us should get involved and everyone raised their hands and said ‘Tiger, you’ve got to get involved’ and I said ‘I’ve never run a football club’ but they trusted me.

"I talked to six or seven guys face-to-face and my last two candidates were Jaap Stam and Erik ten Hag and finally I had Stam in the team.

"You can bring in world class managers but there is no guarantee that you are going to be a success.

"Ok, track record, past record, performance, personality, management, is all involved but I think 30 per cent is your gut."

Thanakarnjanasuth was also questioned about whether he would contact Firoz Kassam over the ownership of the stadium.

He said:  "I haven’t gone deep into the details yet. I’m more than happy to meet with him to talk, but I don’t think it’s really critical, I don’t think so."

Thanakarnjanasuth went on to confirm Darryl Eales would remain on the board.

United's former chairman also attended the press conference.

Eales said: "I have taken the club to my heart and I am passionate about bringing success to the club.

"I think we’ve achieved a fair amount over the last three-and-half seasons, but I think I’ve always been candid about needing a partner or certainly an investment partner to fulfil those aspirations, particularly given the challenge, if we did get into the Championship, of maintaining our position there sustainably.

"From my analysis the Championship is probably now the most uneconomic division in England, if not the world, so from my perspective it’s trying to find the right partner, with the right motives and the right personality and the depth of feeling for football as I believe football should be played.

"We’ve got to know each other over the last six months and in many ways Tiger is a fantastic fit for Oxford United.

"We’re a community club, we’re a club with ambition, but we want to do things in the right way and I 100 per cent believe that is exactly Tiger’s principles."