Crawley co-owner Sue Carter insists that striker Jamie Cook did not have to leave for financial reasons.

Cook, who scored 39 goals in 90 appearances after being signed by manager Steve Evans in 2007, returned to his former club Oxford United on Tuesday for a fee believed to be £30,000.

He is the fourth Crawley player to leave the club in the last month. Youth-team prospects Danny Mills and Ronnie McCrae joined Peterborough while Jake Wright was sold to Albion on the eve of the new season.

It has helped Crawley clear off the huge debts they inherited when Carter and the new board took over the club in 2008 following the discredited Majeed era when Crawley spent a period in administration.

She said: “Steve is disappointed that Jamie went but the board looked at the bigger picture.

“As a club we would have got hammered whatever we did. But as soon as Jamie got wind of Oxford’s interest I think he’d made his mind up. It’s the club he grew up supporting and he lives 20 minutes from the ground. You have to be fair to the player in these circumstances, it is a dream move for Jamie.

“But it’s definitely not a fire sale. Only in the last fortnight we turned down an offer for Charles Ademeno because it didn’t meet our valuation. We are not a hostage to any offer which comes in.”

After Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat at Luton Evans admitted that losing Cook was bad business for the club although he accepted that the 30-year-old was struggling with the daily commute from his Oxfordshire home.

Carter added: “Steve doesn’t like it when players move. It is not his decision, ultimately it is the board’s.

“You have to give Steve credit for finding players and selling them on and hopefully he will take some satisfaction out of spotting them and will do it again.”

Cook has returned to the Kassam Stadium for a second spell having played for Oxford when they were a Football League club eight years ago. Part of his transfer fee was paid by the club’s fans through their “12th man” scheme.

Cook said: “Oxford is my club. I grew up watching them and I was gutted when I had to leave.

“I’m absolutely delighted to get this opportunity to come back and play for them and for the fans to put their hands in their pockets is absolutely brilliant and I hope to repay them.”

Evans signed three 18-year-olds, Dominic Collins, Adam Barton and Kieran Djilali, on deadline day and all three will again be involved at York on Saturday when Crawley are likely to be without five players because of injury.

Evans said: “If we play with the same energy levels and get some luck with decisions which we didn’t get at Luton on Tuesday we will be fine.”