ELVIS Bwomono is desperate to make his 50th appearance for Southend United the most memorable so far.

The Shrimpers defender looks set to bring up his half century of appearances in Saturday’s crucial clash with Sunderland which Kevin Bond’s side are likely to have to win to avoid relegation from League One.

And Bwomono, who came through the youth ranks at Roots Hall, is keen to make it an afternoon to remember.

“I’m proud to be reaching 50 games for the club and words can’t describe how I feel about it but the most important thing is winning the game,” said Bwomono.

“It’s obviously a really big game but I want to make this one better than the previous 49 by making sure we get the result we need to stay up.

"We need to go on the front foot and go for it but we know Sunderland are a strong team."

The Black Cats are fourth in the table and can no longer win automatic promotion but Bwomono still feels the visitors will want to win at Roots Hall.

"I think they will want to end the season on a high," said Bwomono.

"They will want to go into the play-offs with a win."