Owner Ziya Eren says it is still his plan to steer Crawley Town to the Championship.

Eren, who is based in Turkey, has been bankrolling the League Two club since 2016.

There has been upheaval at the People’s Pension Stadium this month with head coach Gabriele Cioffi forced out and director of operations Kelly Derham axed.

In a bid to reassure supporters of his commitment to the club, Eren said: “My first statement when I first took over this club was we had an eight-to-ten-year plan to get to the Championship and that plan is still in progress.”

He added: “The fans have trusted us for four years. I only have one request – please keep the faith and keep trusting us.

“In March I will have been the owner for four years, and if I was to show the financial investment for that time, it is the record level of funding from an owner.”

Speaking through an interpreter from notes, Eren answered questions on Cioffi’s departure and whether there would be a movement in the transfer window in January.

He said: “Naturally all the players’ performances are being revised and looked at.

“Of course, we’re a club but at the same time we are a company.

“We have to think of the club and the well-being of the club.

“If there are players to be sold for the right price, we must think what is right for the club, and similarly, we must buy the right type of footballer and character for the club.

“This has been our strategy for four years.

“Please let me reassure the fans that in the fours years we have done everything possible we can for this football club and we shall carry on doing so.”

Eren believes progress has been made under his reign.

He said: “When we first bought the club there were only five contracted players continuing on into the summer and we had many loan players.

“Today we have 31 contracted players and we’re loaning out many players too.

“We’ve gone from a team loaning in many players to now loaning them out, so we have progress of squad management and strategy.

“We have developed as a company and we have improved our infrastructure.

“We’re not saying we’re done and we know there is still a lot of room for improvement and we shall carry on to learn and do so.”