Sunderland's Connor Wickham aims to convince Paolo Di Canio to pick him

Sunderland striker Connor Wickham has insisted that he wants to attract the attention of manager Paolo Di Canio in order to secure a first-team place.

The England Under-21 international has only made eight Premier League appearances for the Black Cats since making the move from Ipswich Town in 2011.

"Obviously the main aim for the season is to try to establish myself in the first team this year," Wickham told the Shields Gazette.

"There's good competition up front because we've got a number of good strikers at the club now.

"But hopefully I can just get my head down, work as hard as I can and make sure I do everything right personally. Hopefully then, the manager will recognise it."

The 20-year-old had a loan stint at Sheffield Wednesday last season.