KEITH Cox, managing director of embattled Oxford United, has issued a plea to Oxford Mail readers to come forward and buy the club.

Cox made the call after telling manager Malcolm Shotton that he's got to make do with what he's got because United remain skint.

They simply have no money.

Shotton, still smarting from Saturday's 7-0 humiliation at Sunderland, had the meeting he was seeking with Cox to try to find out which way the club was going.

But he got the news he didn't want to hear. Namely that, injuries or no injuries, there's no cash to improve United's squad and, until any take-over goes through, that situation is unlikely to change.

Shotton had said he would be banging on Cox's door first thing yesterday morning because his squad "just can't cope" with squads like Sunderland.

Yet Cox said the manager "should not be coming out with statements like that" because, he says, he knows the club's position.

"There is no money to improve the squad so Malcolm's got to make do with what he's got.

"But it's not my fault," Cox said.

"My job has been to keep it afloat. I am running a business and it's a very difficult job.

"We bought in Dean Windass in the summer and people shouldn't forget that. "Malcolm has the same squad he had last season when he did well but he's unfortunate with all the injuries at the moment."

As to the future, Cox said: "If new owners take over it's up to them to say what they intend to do but they are dealing with the ex-chairman (Robin Herd) who is the main shareholder, not with me.

"People have known for a year now that the club is for sale.

"I get supporters coming up to me and saying 'why haven't you got new owners in?' But it's not me - Robin Herd's the one who's selling it."

Cox said bluntly: " "If anyone thinks we're better off by letting it go bust, let them come out in the open and say so. But the scenario would be the same as Aldershot.

"That means us losing players' registrations and dropping out of the Football League and having to start up again at the bottom.

"I'm trying to stop that happening. And in that context I can't say we're going to have lots of money for new players. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"I invite any of the Oxford Mail readers out there who want to buy the club to please come forward.

"Or, as I said at the last public meeting, if anyone thinks they can do my job better than I'm doing, let them get in touch. I've not had a soul so far, and not a single half-serious approach."

Herd was not available for comment.

Shotton's assistant, Mark Harrison, said: "Malcolm's been told there's no money so we've just got to plod on.

"It is difficult because a lot of clubs we go to are now like small Premiership clubs with huge resources at their disposal.

"We have always been in a position of being able to try to generate our own money by selling one of our best players but we've had no offers for anybody."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.