OXFORD United acted responsibly on transfer deadline day, according to vice chairman Zaki Nuseibeh.

Many fans were angry at the club for selling Shandon Baptiste and Tariqe Fosu to Brentford, while not bringing in a right back or an extra striker.

Although the U’s had done their business at the start of January, three of their five signings were loan deals, while only Rob Atkinson has a contract beyond this summer.

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Friday’s moves weakened Karl Robinson’s squad at a moment when their promotion rivals in Sky Bet League One were strengthening.

That was particularly surprising given two lucrative cup runs this season, plus the sale of Gavin Whyte for £2million last summer, giving rise to the feeling a golden opportunity was being squandered.

Nuseibeh was not surprised by the reaction, but argued the decisions were taken with the long-term future of the club in mind.

He said: “The fan in me would have been just as frustrated.

“Karl said he was unhappy, but so is Tiger (owner Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth), myself and the rest of the board.

“But it’s a responsible decision and we’ve got to think with our brains rather than our hearts.”

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United’s most recent accounts, covering the year up to June 2018, show a £2million loss.

Although the financial difficulties which resulted in a succession of winding-up petitions last season have not been repeated, the club’s position remains challenging.

It means a combined offer, which is thought to be as high as £5million with add-ons, had to be taken seriously.

Nuseibeh said: “We don’t need to sell in that we’ve committed to covering our operating losses, but people forget they are very large.

“We say normally £2-3m, it’s actually more towards £3m – that’s just the normal operating loss.

“Other things happen during this season and last season, including paying off arbitration money, which has now been fully done. There were things like the purchase of the long lease on the training ground.”

He added: “Certainly we have the players to make a success out of this second half of the season and financially we are a stable club.

“I can with confidence say that things are so much better than they were last summer.”