JEROME Sinclair is working on scoring scruffy goals in training as he attempts to get off the mark for Oxford United.

The striker has made an impact since arriving in a loan move from Watford on deadline day in January.

But ahead of tomorrow’s home game with Scunthorpe United, Sinclair is yet to find the back of the net himself.

The 22-year-old said: “I’ve had a lot of chats with the manager about this.

“In training I tend to score a lot of the beautiful goals where you whip it into the top corner, but in a league like this those opportunities don’t come as regularly.

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“He wants me to be in the middle of the goal to make sure I’m there when the ball comes across to get all those little tap-ins.

“I know as a striker that’s something I definitely need to do, because you can’t whip it into the top corner from 20 yards every week.

“Once in a while they come, but as a striker you get your numbers (up) by being in the right place, at the right

time.”

A month into his spell, Sinclair has featured in every game for United – in contrast to a more stop-start stay with Sunderland during the first half of the season.

And the striker is feeling good about fulfilling his potential before the end of the season.

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He said: “For me it’s just been about gaining that confidence back.

“To some extent knocking the cobwebs off.

“I played games at Sunderland, but not as many as I would have liked.

“It’s about getting back into that rhythm of putting the ball in the net regularly and feeling at ease with where you are really.

“I’m kind of an easy-going person, so it’s just about coming here, settling in with the lads and getting in and amongst it.

“You can’t come into a new place and isolate yourself away from people.

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“You have to get to know everyone and when you do that it makes things easy.”

The former Liverpool trainee was given a specific assignment last weekend, where his committed performance in leading the line contributed to a hard-fought 1-0 win.

While there is an expectation the U’s will look to be more expansive at home to the Iron tomorrow, Sinclair feels it would be a mistake to forget the elements which worked so well at Bloomfield Road.

He said: “What we did last week worked, so we have to be aware of that.

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“We know we have players with the ability to go and win games.

“If we can stop the ball going in the net we’re always going to score goals at the other end.”