SOUTHEND United’s Kane Ferdinand wants to celebrate his latest international call up with another memorable win over Oxford this weekend.

The in-form midfielder has been placed on standby for the Republic of Ireland’s under-21’s Euro 2013 qualifier with Liechtenstein.

And he now wants to show just why he was called up when Blues host Oxford, his first ever opponents, on Saturday.

“I’m really pleased to have been put on standby because it wasn’t something I was expecting, but I would be even more pleased if I got called up into the squad,” said Ferdinand, 19.

“I’ve played for the under-18 and under 19s before and it’s brilliant.

“The games are massive and it’s always a special moment when the national anthems are played before the matches kick-off.

“I do one day dream of playing for the senior Ireland team but I’m aware I need to keep on playing well with Southend, so hopefully I can do that again when we play Oxford this weekend.”

Ferdinand made his Blues debut against the U’s at the Kassam Stadium on New Year’s Day this year.

And he remains shocked by his rapid progression since that 2-0 triumph.

“This time last season I was still in the youth team at Southend and I was looking forward to FA Youth Cup games,” said Ferdinand.

“To go from there to playing close to 40 games in the first team and being called up by Ireland is brilliant.

“That Oxford game seems a lot longer ago than January, but it would be brilliant to keep on doing well to try and keep this run we’re on going.”

FULL STORY IN THURSDAY'S ECHO