SOUTHEND United left-back Peter Gilbert hopes to sock it to Oldham Athletic in the second round of the FA Cup this weekend.

Gilbert is keen to help Blues see off the League One Latics at Roots Hall.

And, as the defender attempts to do so, he will continue his superstition of playing in ripped socks.

“It all started off because the socks were too small for my calves and I had to cut a slight hole in the top of them to ease the pressure on my legs,” said Gilbert, 28.

“To begin with I was getting a new pair each week and was cutting holes in them without really thinking too much about it.

“But because we’ve been doing well it’s become a bit of a superstition for me.

“I now look for the socks with the holes already in them before each game we play and I’ll certainly be doing the same on Saturday.”

Gilbert hopes his superstition can help Southend equal a club record by going 17 matches unbeaten.

However, he knows it will be hard against an Oldham team who currently sit 13th in League One.

“Oldham are a league above us, so we obviously know we’re in for a tough afternoon,” said Gilbert.

“The cups have been a nice distraction for us this season so far, so we want to try and keep the run we’re on going to get in to the third round.

“The dream would be to then play a top Premier League club away but there’s a lot of hard work to be done before we can even start to think about that.”

And Blues also have a push for promotion to be thinking about in League Two.

“The league remains our priority this season and we can’t lose sight of that,” said Gilbert, who has yet to taste defeat since working his way back in to the starting line-up in September.

“We were all so gutted after the draw against Bristol Rovers last Saturday that it actually felt like a defeat."

FULL STORY IN WEDNESDAY'S ECHO