By Mark Edwards OXFORD United boss Denis Smith has sent striker Ben Abbey on loan to Aldershot in a bid to recapture his goalscoring form.

But it was the striker himself who was the catalyst in the move telling Smith that he needed first-team football to get back on the goal trail.

Abbey arrived at the Manor Ground when Malcolm Shotton was in charge last year, but has since found his first-team chances limited.

The only goal the former Crawley striker has scored for the first team came in the FA Cup win over Morecambe last October, and Smith says the reason that the young striker has gone out on a month's loan is obvious.

"Since I've been at the club, I don't think I've seen him score a goal," Smith admitted.

"Anyone who knows Ben knows that he is always bright and bubbly, but I could do with him starting to score again.

"His job is to score goals and he hasn't been doing that." Abbey responded by saying: "I am always banging in the goals in training, but that's a different matter.

"I haven't had the chances at the higher level, so hopefully I can have a good month at Aldershot, bang some goals in and then come back to Oxford.

"I asked the boss if I figured in his plans and he said he had five strikers and I was down the pecking order, so I thought it was best to go out on loan rather than just sit around.

But as far as transfers go, there will be no more arrivals at the Manor. "That's it now," Smith said. "I don't have any money left." Meanwhile, Eddie Newton, who had been training with United and was on loan at the Manor last season, has signed a one-month contract with Barnet.

Although Smith was keen to sign Newton, he admits it was never on the cards because of the club's financial situation.

"I never had the money to sign Eddie, but knew that he was going to Barnet because they phoned me up and asked me about him."

United are training twice a day ahead of Saturday's trip to Port Vale and have a big injury worry in keeper Jimmy Glass, who has missed training recently with a sprained ankle.