Darren Bent determined to win World Cup place
23 Nov 2009 - 11:13:05
The 25-year-old has pledged to make his many critics eat their words by winning over England head coach after failing to make the most of his fifth international appearance against Brazil.
The former Tottenham forward was prolific at England Under-21 level and even though he has struggled to make an impact at senior level his club form with Sunderland has been outstanding.
Related ArticlesSunderland 1 Arsenal 0Bruce: Darren Bent will prove England credentialsEngland recall Darren Bent and omit Steven GerrardHis rich vein of form enabled Bent to become the first Sunderland player to feature for England at senior level since Gavin McCann played for the national side in 2001.
He has put his England travails down to the failure of his international colleagues to provide him with service in the 1-0 defeat in Doha that saw him hauled off after 55 uneventful minutes that saw him touch the ball just 13 times.
"My desire to go to the World Cup won't go away after one bad England result," Bent said. "The England critics have done what they always do, but I won't let it affect me.
"It was great to play for my country and my desire to go to the World Cup won't go away after one bad England result. I am a confident guy. I feel the last two years have made me mentally stronger. Had I had this criticism before I was at Spurs I probably would have crumbled.
"But whatever people write about me so be it. No one can take away my Sunderland goals or my Sunderland form, and I know that the way to be a success with England is to be a success with Sunderland. The Brazil game was tough - you expect that against high-calibre opposition. If a striker does not get the service then it is hard for him to score.
"But fortunately at Sunderland I know I am getting the service and the chances so I am confident I will continue to get goals. The creative players we have in midfield can open up any defence.
"Steed Malbranque and Andy Reid have been on fire this season and we've got the skipper (Lorik Cana) back from his ban."
Bent scored his ninth goal of the season in the 1-0 victory over Arsenal last weekend and is bullish that he will continue to hit the back of the net to prove his worth to Capello before the England plane heads off to South Africa next June.
"I look on things positively and I couldn't be more confident that I am right now," said Bent who became Sunderland's club-record £10-million signing following a move from Tottenham last summer.
"If we play like we have in the last two or three games we will win games and I will get goals. The season has started really well for us and I am still really optimistic.
"We beat Liverpool, we drew with United, and now we've beaten Arsenal, and none of that is a fluke. We deserved those results. Bent is now setting his sights on Sunderland's trip to hapless Wigan on Saturday but a suspected hamstring injury could thwart his chances of overtaking 11-goal England colleague Jermain Defoe in the scoring charts."
