IAN Lenagan says the process of finding a new Oxford United manager is more than halfway complete.

The U's chairman watched from the directors' box at Spotland as the U's crashed to a 3-0 defeat against fellow promotion contenders Rochdale.

It is five weeks since the departure of Chris Wilder, but a decision on his replacement is not imminent.

Lenagan made it clear caretaker boss Mickey Lewis would stay in charge for the moment, despite the Dale defeat, and reiterated he was in no rush to make an appointment.

He said: "It's a very important process that we've got to get right for the next few years, so it's not something you rush into.

"Today was very disappointing for Oxford fans, for the players, for Mickey, for me. I was looking forward to a better performance than that, but it looked like players coming back from injury."

He added: "We are well on with the process. When you get 60 people applying for a job you have obviously got to give it a lot of time and effort."