Connor Wickham: 'I don't want the season end'

Connor Wickham has admitted that he does not want the Premier League season to come to an end this weekend.

The Sunderland striker spent much of the season on loan with Championship sides Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United, but has scored five goals since returning to his parent club, helping them avoid relegation.

The 21-year-old told the club's website: "I hadn't really had a run in the team [before] but thankfully I got a chance to come back and prove my worth. I didn't really want the season to end, but it's got to end at some point. Hopefully I can pick up where I left off next season.

"We've worked hard in training and in games and got the results we needed. Having been seven points adrift at one point we can now target 12th in the league.

"It's something major. We've beaten some of the top teams and I think we deserve to stay up. It would be great to round the season off with a goal."

Sunderland face Swansea City in their final game of the campaign.