CANVEY Island favourite Jake Pitty says he has his eyes on more silverware this season ahead of tonight’s huge play-off semi-final against Bowers & Pitsea.

The 22-year-old scooped the Manager’s Player of the Season award for his displays over the last nine months.

But Pitty, who has featured in 49 of Canvey’s 51 games so far this term, says celebrating promotion come Sunday afternoon is his ultimate goal this season.

And he is looking forward to the challenge of facing Bowers at the Len Salmon Stadium this evening.

“I can’t wait,” said the Thurrock-based Pitty. “It is a local derby and one that will excite a great number of people.

“There should be a big crowd over there and plenty of the ‘Yellow Army’ as well. We need them to come to Bowers in their numbers. They have been there through the good and hard times and they are our 12th man.

“Quite a few people I know say they will come over to watch as well and I am really excited about it.

“I was awarded Manager’s Player of the Season on Saturday and that was great as we have a strong squad. It is my second award in three seasons and that is always nice but I, and the team, want to achieve more, of course.”

Pitty, like a number of players in both teams, has not competed in a play-off match before.

And he seconded his manager Danny Heale’s view that the pressure will be on Bowers to progress to the showpiece occasion at the weekend.

“It is my first time in a play-off and I am looking forward to it,” said Pitty. “I want to enjoy it and we are both good sides with a lot to play for.

“As a spectacle it should be a good watch, but the pressure is on them. They were second for so long and to miss out on automatic promotion on the last day must have hurt.

“We head there in sixth place and have hit a bit of form towards the end of the season. But we know it is a one-off game and anything can happen.”

Pitty also says he was slightly surprised at the reaction to the news Sam Higgins and James White had signed for Canvey on a dual registration basis.

The move garnered widespread criticism from Bowers supporters on social media, but Pitty is focusing on the match.

“I have seen the comments and it’s a bit of a shame,” said Pitty. “We signed them in March and this sort of thing has been done in the past. I don’t know why there is so much negativity around the whole thing.

“We had training last night and we will talk through some stuff and go into the game in the right frame of mind.”