Bolton 0 Sunderland 1: Bent claims 'I was hung out to dry at Spurs'

17 August 2009 08:08
Did he wanna go Hull City? NO. Did he wanna go Stoke? NO. Did he wanna score on his Sunderland debut and send a withering message to his former employers? YES. Darren Bent’s online outpourings of frustration disappeared when he left Tottenham Hotspur for Wearside a fortnight ago, but bitterness remains at being unloved, played out of position and being part of a less than harmonious dressing room at White Hart Lane. It took the England striker under five minutes against Bolton to start paying off the initial £10million fee — which will rise to £16.5m with add-ons if he keeps this up — and he put a ‘dream debut’ down to the environment Steve Bruce has brought to the club. ‘Maybe I’m the type of player who needs an arm around the shoulder sometimes,’ said Bent, ‘but every player needs the support of their manager. ‘At times last season I felt I was left hung out there to dry, regardless of how I played or how many goals I scored, but since I’ve been at Sunderland it’s been fantastic. ‘The manager has made a point of talking to me every day, encouraging me, telling me what he thinks of me, what he knows I can do. That makes me believe in myself and hopefully I can repay him for that. ‘There’s a massive feeling of togetherness around the place and it’s completely different from my time at Spurs. We’re all fighting for each other. We know that last season was a tough one for this club and we desperately don’t want to repeat that.’ Bent and strike-partner Kenwyne Jones seemed to instantly hit it off, especially in a first half when Sunderland should have kicked on from their early goal to put the game beyond doubt. Jussi Jaaskelainen looks on as he is beaten by Bent's header Despairing: Jussi Jaaskelainen looks on as he is beaten by Bent's header Anyone questioning the balance of playing two big men up front is soon put right by Bent, who insists it is wrong to think of him as a target man. ‘Last season, playing with either (Robbie) Keane or (Jermain) Defoe, I was mainly acting as the big man, but with Kenwyne it allows me to play a different role and one I prefer,' he said. ‘The understanding with Kenwyne feels promising. He’s a fantastic striker, so strong. He took such a big weight off my shoulders. ‘My natural game is playing off the last defender. Probably people didn’t see the best of me when I was at Tottenham for that reason, because I was playing as a target man which isn’t really me.’ Match stats BOLTON (4-4-2): Jaaskelainen 7; Ricketts 4, Cahill 6, Knight 5, Robinson 5; McCann 5 (Lee 68, 6), Muamba 6, Davis 5, Taylor 5; Elmander 5 (Ward 83), K Davies 6. Booked: Muamba, Davis. SUNDERLAND (4-4-2): Fulop 8; Bardsley 7, Ferdinand 7, Collins 6, McCartney 7; Malbranque 7 (Henderson 46, 6), Cana 7, Cattermole 8, Richardson 8 (Campbell 77); Jones 8, Bent 8. Booked: Campbell. Bruce said: ‘The one thing I want is for all my squad is to come into work and be happy in their environment, to come and play. They’ve got the best job in the world. ‘I believe that Darren, for whatever reason, hasn’t had the crack of the whip. I’m delighted we’ve got him. He’s the right age, his attitude and work rate and commitment and he’s a goalscorer at the end of the day.’ While Sunderland were at it from the first bell, Bolton started sluggishly. Sunderland’s early blow did not have to be so decisive and their keeper Martin Fulop had to make two stunning saves at the end of each half to secure a deserved victory. One was from a Gary Cahill header who revealed manager Gary Megson had roasted his players at half time. The centre-half said: ‘We did much better in the second half, but it shouldn’t really need that. We can’t afford to start like that again next week at Hull.’

Source: Daily_Mail