DARRYL Eales has made clear his level of commitment to Oxford United.

In his programme notes ahead of last night’s Checkatrade Trophy victory over Scunthorpe, the U’s chairman went public on the level of investment he has put in the club since taking over in the summer of 2014.

Eales wrote: “As a club owner, to state the obvious, commitment is not just emotional but also requires significant financial investment.

“This is where I would like to provide some more detail and deal in actual numbers.

“To date, I have invested over £8m in the club, including the purchase from Ian Lenagan.

“The current operating loss is budgeted at well over £1m, before player trading.

“This is despite increased commercial revenues and highlights the investment in coaching and the playing squad, which surely is the prerequisite for success.

“Net transfer fees received (assuming all future payments are received) including the sale of Roofe and O’Dowda and the purchases of MacDonald, Dunkley, Hemmings, Johnson, Ledson and Nelson are £1.3m.

“We have also significantly increased our playing budget.

“Quoting playing budgets is potentially fraught as knowing what is and is not included has no standard definition, but I believe our budget is above the median for the division but is not upper quartile.

“I have also made an offer to buy the stadium, funded entirely from personal funds, although this has been superseded currently by Firoz’s discussions with OxVox.

“You may have also read recently about our planned joint venture with Oxford City at Court Place Farm.

“This will enable the construction of a new 3G/4G pitch, funded by us, which will benefit both clubs and the community and, hopefully, become a training base for the first team.

“Based on the above, I would hope that it is clear that anyone who doubts my commitment to the club is mistaken.”