Darryl Eales: Oxford United owner refuses to panic over manager search

Darryl Eales will sit on a three-man interview panel to appoint a new Oxford United manager

Oxford United owner Darryl Eales has acknowledged the club will largely have to put player recruitment on hold until a new manager has been appointed.

The League One club are searching for a successor to Michael Appleton, who joined Leicester City as assistant.

"Most importantly, we have got to try to make the right decision," Eales said of the managerial vacancy.

"If this had happened a month earlier, it would have made recruitment of players so much simpler."

Eales has confirmed that Oxford missed out on signing defender Liam Lindsay from Partick and midfielder Conor McAleny from Everton as a result of Appleton's departure earlier this month.

Lindsay opted to join Championship club Barnsley after Oxford's initial interest, while former Oxford loanee McAleny agreed a move to fellow League One side Fleetwood on Friday.

"That's nobody's fault," Eales said. "Stuff like this happens in football.

"The reality is we're not going to be able to bring in all the players we want because of the circumstances we find ourselves in.

"We do have to try to make the decision (for a new manager) quickly, but if the right decision means it takes us a bit longer, that's fine.

"There's nothing fundamentally broken that we can't start pre-season with 100% of the staff who are there already."