Bent eyes England starting role

Aston Villa and England striker Darren Bent is determined to stake his claim for a starting spot at Euro 2012, with Wayne Rooney suspended for the group stages.

Bent was the top-scoring Englishman in the Premier League last season but he has been unable to cement himself in Fabio Capello’s starting lineup.

The Villa man’s chances of starting at the tournament for the Three Lions have been bolstered as a result of the three-match ban picked up by Rooney, who was punished for kicking out at Montenegrin defender Miodrag Dzudovic in Podgorica earlier this month.

However, despite feeling sympathy for the Manchester United man, Bent insists his mind is on his own game.

“All I’m doing is wondering about myself and trying to get into the squad and play as well as I can,” he told the Daily Star.

“Obviously everyone is gutted for him (Rooney), especially as it’s an international tournament and they don’t come around often.”

“It will be a big blow for the team as he is a world-class player. But this is the time for everyone to rally round and show we can win if he is there or not.”

“To get picked would be a dream come true for me and mean a lot of years of hard work has paid off.”

“You always dream about going to a major competition, scoring a goal and England doing really well. If that happens this time round I’ll be over the moon.”

Bent initially struggled but has found his feet at international level recently, scoring three of his four goals for England in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, and he hopes it will show Capello he is the man to lead the attack next summer.

“It (Rooney’s ban) gives everyone the chance to show what they can do,” Bent said.

“It’s like you are on trial again. You want to be in the squad and it’s up to Fabio to pick who he thinks is best.”

When asked if he expects to be an automatic starter due to his impressive club record, Bent responded: “No! People like Gerrard and Rooney, you know if they are fit, 100 per cent they are playing.”

“I would like to be like that but it’s not happened yet even though I’m playing well for England and scoring quite a few goals.”

“If it doesn’t happen now then it probably won’t. But at the same time, the main person I care about is Fabio Capello and if he picks me that is all that matters and I will be happy.”