Bent aims for the top

Darren Bent has not given up hope of finishing his first season at Sunderland as the Barclays Premier League's top scorer. The 26-year-old has been a major hit on Wearside since his £10million summer escape from Tottenham, and has repaid manager Steve Bruce for his investment with 23 goals to date, 22 of them in the league. That has left him trailing Manchester United and England's Wayne Rooney by just four and Chelsea's Didier Drogba by three. But while his presence in that kind of company could be regarded as reward enough, Bent is determined to push two of the country's most prolific marksman all the way. He might have been even closer had he not seen two penalties saved by Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes last weekend, when he had to make do with a double. Bent said: "The one thing that disappointed me about last weekend was the missed penalties because if I had scored them, I would have been right in the mix with Rooney and Drogba. But I was happy to get two goals in a great win for us and it is definitely still a motivation for me to finish as the top scorer."

Source: PA