OXFORD United have hit back at claims they should have erected a temporary fourth stand for today’s sold-out Emirates FA Cup clash against Newcastle United – saying it was not financially viable.

The U’s obtained planning permission from Oxford City Council for a 735-seat structure at the open end of the Kassam Stadium in Grenoble Road, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, in September.

However, they have not been given the go-ahead by landlord Firoz Kassam to start work on the temporary structure, which the club were looking to have in place for three seasons.

But a statement from supporters’ trust OxVox to members on Thursday night, which also revealed they held met with Mr Kassam and the City Council last week to progress their discussions over a deal to buy the stadium and make it community-owned, claimed United had been given the green light to install extra seating for today’s match.

The club confirmed that was the case, but said it was not an option for a one-off game – especially an FA Cup clash where 45 per cent of the gate receipts go to the visiting team, and another ten per cent to the Football Association.

United managing director Greig Box Turnbull said: "The time to have given us permission for a fourth stand was in the summer

“We could have then covered the cost in four or five matches and had plenty of time to get all the operational issues in place.

“OxVox alerted us two weeks ago that Firoz Kassam had agreed we could put up a temporary stand for the Newcastle game.

“We looked into it, got quotes and went through at all the logistics, but unfortunately that process brought us to the conclusion it was just not practical or possible for this game.

“The indications we were given was that Mr Kassam wanted a financial cut, and by the time you have that, the money we would have to give to Newcastle and the FA it was just not financially viable.”

United are expecting to generate around £100,000 from today’s match.

But that figure would have been drastically reduced if they had gone ahead with the extra seating.

Mr Box Turnbull said the sold-out fourth-round fixture was a ‘timely reminder’ that the stadium is not fit to match the club’s ‘rapid progression’ on the pitch.

He said: “We could have sold thousands more tickets this weekend.

“We want to play against teams like Newcastle, Leeds, and Nottingham Forest on a regular basis. We need the fourth stand.”

OxVox’s discussions with the City Council and Mr Kassam have been well-documented.

The supporters’ trust issued a statement a fortnight ago saying they hoped to have ‘heads of terms’ – a framework for a business deal – agreed by the end of the season.

But the club’s board responded by saying they felt the deal was taking too long.

OxVox told its members in the statement: “On Friday, January 20, we met with Firoz Kassam and Oxford City Council for the latest in our series of meetings aimed at bringing matters to a head by summer 2017.

“It was a constructive and positive meeting, which enables us to report that we are optimistic that we will indeed be able to present a new and better stadium situation to the board of OUFC and community in the timescale originally envisioned.

“However, a good part of that meeting was spent with the other two parties questioning the recent statements by the board of OUFC, and leaving us in little doubt that these interventions – by the company that everyone is trying to assist – are not overly helpful in bringing matters to a positive and timely conclusion.”

United’s board replied with a statement of their own, said: "We recently sought greater clarity over the key terms underpinning the current negotiations, through a series of open questions, but it is now clear that this clarity and certainty will not be forthcoming.

"Ox Vox has set a self-imposed deadline of ‘delivering a new and better stadium to the Board of OUFC and the community’ by the end of the season, but our questions stand, as tabled, especially re the timing of Heads of Terms.

"Going forward until Ox Vox are able to revert to us with more specific plans, we will refrain from making any further statements or holding any further meetings with them regarding the stadium.

"The Board will not be deflected from building on the progress made over the past two years; our chairman has invested significantly in this club and our commitment to building sustainable success will not be compromised."