KARL Robinson admits he is desperate to get a deal for a striker over the line as soon as possible.

Oxford United’s deficiencies were there for all to see on Saturday, when they came away from Blackpool with a 2-1 defeat despite dominating the game.

Finding support for Jamie Mackie, who missed a sitter at Bloomfield Road, has been the priority all summer.

While Dan Agyei has signed, he is not yet ready to feature after missing pre-season and the U’s hopes of signing Matty Taylor on loan from Bristol City appear to be waning amid interest from elsewhere in Sky Bet League One.

Robinson was prepared to drive straight from Blackpool to the U’s training ground and stressed one way or another they simply have to get a deal over the line.

He said: “We’ve just got to make that deal happen.

“We’ve got to bring in a wide player and a striker, it’s evident.

“You could get a numpty to come and do this job, some would say I actually am, but it’s very evident what we need. It’s as simple as that.

“We’ve got one or two in mind that we’ve not spoken to yet but would like the opportunity to speak to maybe tonight.

“We spoke to a club this morning, and asked if I could meet the player at 10.30pm this evening. That’s how desperate I am.”

Robinson’s frustrations are not because his side are struggling – far from it.

They were a class above the Tangerines, who somehow hung on to make it three league wins out of three.

The signs for United have looked promising this season and the head coach could not have been prouder of the performance, which prompted a standing ovation from the travelling fans.

Robinson said: “I said to the players don’t accept losing, but if you’re going to lose you’ve set a target now of what losing looks like.

“That’s how an Oxford team should lose. We should never peter out.

“I thought every one of my players was sensational and I apologise if people think I’m being too protective of my players, but I can’t stick up for them any more than I can here.

“In all my career this is as dominant a team as I’ve had in the first three games.

“We’ve dominated every game – Sunderland away, Peterborough at home and Blackpool away.”