JEROME Sinclair says he is ready to shoulder the goalscoring burden after becoming Oxford United’s only deadline day signing.

The former Liverpool trainee joined on loan from Watford until the end of the season.

Hopes of a late move for Jonte Smith, who plays four divisions below Sky Bet League One with Lewes, were dashed shortly before the 11pm deadline.

With James Vaughan choosing to join Portsmouth instead, it leaves Sinclair as the sum total from United’s efforts to add firepower during January.

The 22-year-old is well aware of the clamour among supporters to sign a front man and is unfazed.

He said: “Of course, playing as a striker for anyone is pressure.

“Your job is to put the ball in the back of the net and help the team. That’s what’s I’ll be aiming to do.

“I’ve been quite aware of the situation that they wanted a striker to come in. Hopefully I can be that guy.”

While Vaughan would have been the safer – but more expensive – option, Sinclair arrives with more potential than pedigree.

Just four goals in 40 appearances is all he has to show for a career which has involved a £4million transfer from Anfield to Vicarage Road.

Almost half of those games have come this season on loan at Sunderland and Sinclair is banking on more game time getting the best out of him.

He said: “People will have expectations, but I have high expectations of myself.

“I haven’t hit the heights I should have recently and hopefully this is a fresh start and I’ll be able to do good things here.”

Robinson had been aiming to bring in two strikers for most of the month.

Smith was a late call which did not come off, leaving Sinclair as the fourth and final addition of the window.

But following on from winger Jordan Graham and midfielders Mark Sykes and Ahmed Kashi, Robinson believes United left January in better shape than they started it.

He said: “Yes, that’s certainly a good way to look at it.

“We didn’t enter it very well. At the Plymouth game (on January 1) we were very threadbare and we were on the floor after that (3-0 defeat).

“Since then we’ve brought in Kash, Sykesy, Jordan plus now Jerome, I think it’s been a productive month.”