Striker Steve Maclean is confident that victory against Gillingham on Saturday can kick-start Oxford United’s season.

The on-loan forward, who impressed in the 2-1 defeat at Rotherham last weekend, is confident that the U’s can return to winning ways at the Kassam Stadium.

And if they do, he says, they can start pushing up the npower League Two table.

Maclean, on loan from Plymouth, made his debut at the Don Valley Stadium along with fellow new recruits Paul Wotton and Ben Futcher.

The trio had very little time to get to know their teammates before that game.

But after a week of training, the former Rangers, Scunthorpe, Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff front man is confident of the right result.

“My target is simply to help Oxford do well,” he said.

“It’s not just about scoring a few goals, it’s about helping the team.

“If I get a goal or two and it helps me as well then that’s a bonus.

“I have seen enough around the place now to know that we have the players and manager to do well.

“I have played at this level and know how tight it can get.

“A couple of wins pushes you right up the table so we can start that happening on Saturday and then see where it takes us.”

Maclean admitted that the move was all a bit of a rush, and he is grateful to have had a full week now to properly settle in.

“It was all incredibly quick,” he added. “It happened like a whirlwind – I met the lads and then the game was upon us.

“I had a couple of efforts saved, Alfie (Potter) had a header, but nothing quite fell for us, so we ended up with a disappointing result.”