Bruce in plea to England coach Capello
STEVE Bruce has urged England boss Fabio Capello to make the most of Darren Bent in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.
The Sunderland striker has been one of the beneficiaries of England's World Cup disaster.
Bent was called up for tonight's game against Bulgaria at Wembley, and Bruce has begged Capello to give the 26-year-old enough time on the pitch to impress.
"I hope he gets a chance tonight – I really do," said Bruce.
"He deserves it. Darren was part of the 30-man provisional World Cup squad, but he only played 45 minutes against Japan, and was injured for the last warm-up game.
"When the final World Cup squad came out, he was bitterly disappointed at missing out after doing so well last season.
"Everyone at the club had to try and pick him up a bit, but Mr Capello put him in the squad for the friendly against Hungary last month, and, while he had to pull out through injury, he is in the squad for the qualifiers.
"So if he gets a proper chance, who knows? I said all along that I'd have taken him to the World Cup, but I would say that, wouldn't I?
"What is important is that he gets his opportunity, that he gets a proper crack of the whip, because there's no point bringing him if you're not going to give him a real chance to make an impact.
"And I think when you look at his goalscoring record – not just at Sunderland but down the years – he genuinely deserves it.
"He's a natural goalscorer, and I think he has the capacity to score at any level.
"Those are the sort of players you want in any squad, and I think it's about time that people started looking at his strengths rather than his weaknesses."
Bent was left out of the World Cup squad this summer despite scoring 25 goals last season – 24 of them in the Premier League, making him the highest-scoring English player after Manchester United's Wayne Rooney.
But England flopped in South Africa, causing coach Capello to take a hard look at his players, discard some of those who disappointed, and bring in fresh blood.
Bent is in the squad for England's opening World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria at Wembley tonight and then against Switzerland in Basel on Tuesday, and is hoping Capello will give him a chance to add to his six caps and prove he can perform on the international stage.
The England squad for the qualifiers included five strikers – Bent, Rooney, Peter Crouch, Jermaine Defoe and Carlton Cole – but Crouch has since picked up an injury and returned to Spurs for treatment.
No replacement has been called up, which must increase Bent's chances of being involved tonight, though Capello could opt to go for Rooney as a lone striker, or play Steven Gerrard just behind the Manchester United man.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Jarrow
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
