Torquay United midfielder Chris Hargreaves has said his future at the club is "out of his hands" as he continues to be linked to Oxford.

He has been left out of the Gulls squad to face Barnet on Tuesday.

Hargreaves, 37, told BBC Spotlight: "I want the best of the club. I only have good things to say about them. It's for other people to decide at the moment.

"If the club needs to progress and wants to progress and that doesn't include me I'm fine with that."

When asked if he wanted to leave Torquay, he said: "No I don't. But I want the best for the club and that won't change whether I'm there or whether I'm not."

"The one thing that remains constant is my love for the club and that will not change in the fact that I want them to do well."

Hargreaves signed a new one-year deal at Plainmoor last summer and has made 25 appearances this season, scoring three goals.

He made 75 appearances for Oxford between 2005 and 2007 and held talks with the club last Thursday.

It is for Chris and the two clubs to sort something out if that is possible but my only priority now is to concentrate on the players that are here ahead of the game on Tuesday night Paul Buckle

Torquay boss Paul Buckle told the club website: "I have given Chris Hargreaves every opportunity I can as manager since last June after we won promotion to further his career here at Torquay United by way of a contract offer as a coach.

"Chris decided in the early part of last week that the offer wasn't acceptable which was fine and Chris then expressed a wish to go on the transfer list.

"The events of last week unfolded with a phone call last Wednesday morning from the Oxford manager Chris Wilder asking if Chris Hargreaves was available. The answer from me was yes, reluctantly. It was a simple agreement between the two clubs that Oxford would take Chris' contract over until the end of June.

"As it turned out Oxford didn't want to do that, they wanted to take Chris but not pay for him over the summer. I was furious with that because I thought it was an insult and I made it known to Chris Hargreaves; why would I want to lose my captain and for it to cost Torquay United money during the summer?

"I spoke to Chris on Sunday and we both agreed that things weren't ideal. I told him that I wouldn't be playing him against Barnet and for him to go and sort things out. It is for Chris and the two clubs to sort something out if that is possible but my only priority now is to concentrate on the players that are here ahead of the game on Tuesday night.

Last week, the Gulls manager had told BBC Radio Devon: "He's been absolutely fantastic during his time here. I'm somebody who has to be moving forward, and if it's not moving forward it's no good to me."

Chris Hargreaves and Tim Sills [now at Stevenage] can't go forever and I think it's healthy and that we're moving in the right direction."

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