PAOLO Di Canio is determined to keep his Wembley dream alive by keeping Swindon’s unbeaten run going with victory at Southend in the area semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tonight.

Town make a swift return to Essex after dumping Colchester out of the FA Cup on Saturday, which extended the club’s unbeaten run in all competitions to an impressive 12 games.

Keeping that run on course will undoubtedly be tough against a Southend side who are in stunning form themselves and have not tasted defeat since losing to Swindon at the County Ground back on September 10.

They have, however, drawn their last two games at Roots Hall and Di Canio believes that if his players perform to the level they did against Colchester, then there is every chance that they can record a victory.

“It is a big chance for us to reach the two-legged final that will give us the chance to go to Wembley,” said the Town boss.

“For this reason I expect a big performance once again, not only because that will be important for us to go through but also for many other reasons, including that it can help us to keep our confidence going for when we play in the league again.

“We are not worried about playing sides in League One so obviously that is the same for League Two.

“We play against the team who are top of the league but we beat them 2-0 already and we know that we can beat any side.

“It is important that we play with commitment like we showed against Colchester, but we are not worried.”

Di Canio is expected to welcome back Jake Jervis for the game after the striker was unable to play in the FA Cup at the weekend.

Robins midfielder Michael Timlin, who is on loan at Southend, is ineligble to play, although the 26-year-old would have been suspended for the encounter anyway after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season at the weekend.

  • PAOLO Di Canio has been nominated for the npower League Two Manager of the Month award for November. The 43-year-old led the Robins to three wins and a draw that cemented their place inside the top seven of League Two.

It is the second time Di Canio has been in contention for the award having been nominated for the September gong, which was won by Southend boss Paul Sturrock. Also up for the award are Cheltenham boss Mark Yates, Shrewsbury manager Graham Turner and Barnet’s Lawrie Sanchez.