OXFORD United are planning to strengthen further by signing an experienced striker.

Manager Chris Wilder believes competition is needed up front for the final run-in, and feels a cool head, and someone who can hold the ball up well and bring others into play, would be a big asset.

And Wilder revealed the club were turned down in an approach for Shrewsbury striker Jamie Cureton.

Wilder said: “We’re looking to bring another one in. We’re always looking to strengthen.

“We’ve looked at it and we feel we might need a little boost, and as always the chairman has backed me 100 per cent, within reason.”

He added: “I think we need more competition at the top of the pitch.

“Alfie (Potter) is injured, and we’ve brought in Ashley Cain, who’s a young boy.

“That was a good signing and we feel he’ll stretch the game for us when he gets going – he’s only had one training session with us.

“I think we also need someone with experience at this stage of the season, and we’ve got good contacts.

“When we come into pressure situations, experience is important. We’ve got it with Hargreaves in the middle of the pitch, and in other areas.

“Saturday was the least amount of chances we have created for a while and maybe we do need someone who’s a calming influence at the top of the pitch, someone who can just link it up a bit better, get hold of it and bring other people into play.”

Wilder said of his target: “We made an enquiry about Jamie Cureton, but there’s nothing doing there.

“There’s another forward from a League club who knows what it’s like in the situation we’re in, and could dome in and hold it up for us.”

United’s manager said the Trophy defeat by Kidderminster would soon be forgotten if the team can push on at the top of the table.

“We started off OK, but they got a goal on the break which killed us,” he said.

“They’re a good counter-attacking side that break with pace when you have to go chasing it, and both goals have been scored when we were trying to push forward.

“We had a go in the second half – Ashley (Cain) and Sam (Deering) gave us a lift. But I’m not going to dwell on this.

“We take football matches seriously, but we knew, when we came back on the first day of pre-season, that our main aim and sole objective was to win the league, so we’ve got to make sure we do that now.”