OXFORD United’s latest set of accounts show a loss of more than £4million in the space of 12 months.

The figures cover the year up to the end of June 2019, a period in which the club was subject to multiple winding-up petitions due to late payments.

As a deficit, it equates to losing about £80,000 per week.

United’s directors opted to leave out a copy of the profit and loss account among the documents, which means some details have not been made public.

Details for the profit and loss reserves are though included, showing an increase in total losses from £14.4m to £18.6m, while in terms of total equity they have gone from £10.8m in the red to £15.1m. 

The big change is the amount ‘owed to group undertakings’ – likely to be United’s parent company – which has increased from £2.1m to £10.9m.

Kieran Maguire, a lecturer in football finance at the University of Liverpool, said: “The losses for the year are substantial.

“The club is increasingly reliant on the continuing support of the owners to carry on day-to-day.”

There are positive signs in the details reported after the accounting period.

They show the loan to former owner Darryl Eales, which stood at more than £2.6m last summer, has now been repaid - although the charge is still officially outstanding on Companies House.

They also reveal an income of £4.4m this season from player trading – reflecting the fees received for Gavin Whyte, Shandon Baptiste and Tariqe Fosu, which will show up in the next set of accounts.

It effectively means the sales this season have covered the deficit from the previous campaign.

While the deadline day decision to sell Baptiste and Fosu to Brentford was criticised by many, vice chairman Zaki Nuseibeh said at the time: “It’s a responsible decision and we’ve got to think with our brains rather than our hearts.”