BRITT Assombalonga will be staying at Southend United until January after agreeing to extend his loan spell from Watford.

The 19-year-old striker has bagged four goals in his last four games for Blues.

And he hopes to celebrate remaining with Paul Sturrock's side by again hitting the back of the net at Cheltenham Town tomorrow.

“I wasn't sure what was going to happen right up until yesterday but I'm really pleased to be staying with Southend,” said Assombalonga.

“I'm playing games, scoring goals and learning all the time from the manager and the experienced players that are here so I wanted to stay for longer.

“Now it's all been sorted out I can look forward to getting more matches and hopefully I can score another goal at Cheltenham tomorrow to help us get a good result because we've done well recently and want to keep it going”

Assombalonga scored twice in last Saturday's 3-1 win over Dagenham & Redbridge.

And, coming after he also netted against both Northampton Town and Wycombe Wanderers, the young forward insists he feels capable of netting 20 goals this season.

“I’ve set myself a target of 20 and I think I can do it,” said Assombalonga.

"Last year that target was 15 and I managed 16 so I am hoping to break another landmark this time around.

“My confidence is high at the moment and I think that helps every player.

“When chances come my way I feel like I'm going to put them away and if I don't then I'll score the next one.

“I think if you think positively then positive things will happen and that's certainly my approach to the game.”

Assambalonga will be with Blues until January 3 and has also been granted permission to play in the FA Cup, much to the delight of manager Paul Sturrock.

“Britt has done well during his time with us so we're very pleased everything has been sorted out for him to stay,” said Sturrock.

“He's scored a few goals and has a good attitude too so we're delighted to have him for longer.”