Bent considered quitting England

24 July 2010 16:20
Sunderland striker Darren Bent considered quitting England duty after being left out of Fabio Capello's World Cup squad.[LNB] The 26-year-old dismissed the Italian's decision to name him in the provisional 30-man party as a "token gesture".[LNB]However, despite Bent's anger at not being selected for South Africa he is not prepared to give up on his international career just yet.[LNB]"I felt that I was taken to Austria as a token gesture," said the former Tottenham forward, who has scored 48 goals in the last two seasons.[LNB]"It was as though he (Capello) decided he had to take me because of the goals I'd scored.[LNB]"He took me to the training camp, gave me 45 minutes and because I didn't score two goals, that was it. It hurt. I can't deny that was how I felt.[LNB]"I had long conversations with my dad and my manager. I just felt I was only there to make up the numbers.[LNB]"I thought 'should I just call it a day with England and hang up my boots in international football?' I contemplated it.[LNB]"If I couldn't get in the squad after scoring so many goals in the Premier League that season...."[LNB]But Bent quickly realised he would be making a rash decision.[LNB]"You can't burn your bridges like that," he told The Journal.[LNB]"I hope it is going to be a meritocracy. A few people have said to me that I've jumped up the pecking order after what happened over there, but who knows?[LNB]"People are saying this is going to change and that is going to change, but how much can it?[LNB]"All I can do is keep going, keep believing in myself and keep scoring goals.[LNB]"I'm not going to give up on England because of what happened this summer.[LNB]"I'm going to keep working hard, keep playing well for Sunderland and keep knocking on that door. That's all I can do."

Source: Team_Talk