DEADLINE day recruit Elliot Lee says his new side are a ‘force to be reckoned with’.

The Luton Town loanee made his debut at the weekend, starting the 3-2 defeat at Doncaster Rovers.

Despite the result, which ended a nine-match winning run, Lee feels this season could be a successful one for the U’s.

The 26-year-old forward indeed won promotion with his parent club, scoring in a 3-1 win over Karl Robinson’s United on the final day of the 2018/19 season as The Hatters topped the league.

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Speaking ahead of tonight’s visit to Bristol Rovers, he said: “We’re going to go in full of confidence wanting to win the game, and go show why we deserve promotion and why they should fear us, we’re a force to be reckoned with.

“You can tell the lads are enjoying their football, there’s a real camaraderie around the place and a good atmosphere, and that’s what you need – that’s how you win games, when there’s a togetherness like there is here.”

Lee also said his new teammates would be looking to quickly move on from the defeat to Doncaster.

“The result was obviously a shame but I think we can take a lot of positives from the performance,” he said.

Read more: The better team lost at Doncaster, says Karl Robinson

“I think on the whole, we did deserve to win the game but obviously you don’t always get what you deserve in football.

“We move on, that goes behind us now, we take the positives and we move forward and I’m sure it won’t be long before we go on another run.

“There’s always going to be ups and downs in football, it’s about how you react.”

For Lee, getting almost 80 minutes under his belt will be crucial after losing his place in the Luton side.

“I was chuffed when I heard I was starting the game, I’d only really started one game for Luton in the last two months so I was a bit leggy towards the end but it won’t take me long to get my full match sharpness and hopefully I’ll be at my best,” he said.

See more: Player ratings for Oxford United’s defeat at Doncaster Rovers

“I played against Oxford a couple of years ago when we were in League One and they’re always a really hard team to play against.

“They set up really well, they play football really well.

“I knew a few of the lads coming in and how much quality they possess.

“Just training with them for two days, I could see there’s so much quality in the team and a real strength in depth.

“It’s high-standard training and there’s a real intensity, there’s everything set up to be a successful season.”