DAVIS Keillor-Dunn says he will be living his dream if he steps out at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light tonight.

The attacking midfielder grew up supporting the Black Cats, admiring players such as Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips in their halcyon Premier League days.

So his eyes lit up when Oldham Athletic were drawn away to his boyhood club in the Papa John’s Trophy.

Keillor-Dunn played against Sunderland at the same stage of the competition when the teams were drawn together last season, with Latics the home team on that occasion.

But, ahead of tonight’s away tie game (kick-off 7pm), he is relishing the chance to step out at the stadium he attended regularly as a child.

“I’ve never played at the Stadium of Light before in my career, so it’ll be a nice moment for myself,” said the 24-year-old, who is expected to start again this hometown team.

“It’s a dream come true to play there, after following them since I can remember with my Mum and Dad taking me to the games and we’d stand on the terraces, so it’s a great feeling and I’ll relish the moment with all my family and friends there.

“I idolised Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn throughout my childhood and they’re two big names within football. I’ve witnessed the club in the Premier League, the good times in the North East.

"It's a great club, obviously, it’s a shame that they’re in League One, but it's all about Oldham for me, I just want to beat them and progress through to the next round of the cup.

“It will only be a good experience if we get the win as a team because, for the Oldham fans, what will probably also be their first trip to Sunderland, they deserve something to smile about after what has been a very tough season so far.”

Keillor-Dunn still keeps tabs on Sunderland, who are managed by former Oldham boss Lee Johnson. And he hopes his knowledge of the opposition will be useful.

“They're going to be good on the ball, they’re towards the top of the league above us, so it will be difficult,” he said.

"We’ve got to set up in the correct manner and we mustn’t get brought down with their passing game as well as staying compact and try to score ourselves.

“We're there to win the game, we're not there to just defend with that, so I'm looking forward to it.”

Revenge is also a factor, after Sunderland knocked Latics out of the competition at the round of 32 last season.

“You always want to do one better and you want to get further than that last time,” added Keillor-Dunn, speaking to the club.

“Obviously, it's the same opposition at a different stadium, but going forward we’ve got to learn and adapt to different surfaces and opposition.

"As I said, we want to better our position in the cup from last year and get further and get to that next round.

“It's a good test for us against the holders and I believe that we've got more than enough in that dressing room to win the game and turn things around.”