'I should have had five!' - hat-trick hero Darren
DYNAMITE Darren Bent exploded back to form with his first Premier League hat-trick and then declared: "I should have had five!"
Bent fired home three second-half goals as Sunderland's winless streak ended spectacularly with a 4-0 win against Bolton last night.
But the striker had his feet planted firmly back on the ground afterwards ... by his dad.
Bent said: "I'm really pleased with my hat-trick. It's my first Premier League hat-trick, and I was talking about it to my dad afterwards and he said, 'what about the two chances you missed?'
"He's right. I had a great chance in the first half and put it wide. I was really disappointed not to hit the target.
"And I hit the post in the second half, so I should have had more goals."
Fraizer Campbell had eased the tension at the Stadium of Light with a goal in just 41 seconds before Bent stole the show after the break.
After claiming his first goal on 64 minutes, the 10m club record signing stripped off his shirt and ran to fans in the North Stand shouting: "I'm back."
Bent said: "My last hat-trick was in the Uefa Cup with Spurs last season.
"I've had countless twos and scored hat-tricks for Ipswich, but never in the Premier League.
"I felt really sharp. I'd been talking to the gaffer in the run-up to the game and said in the last few weeks I was a bit below par – not at my best.
"He told me he had faith in me and to keep getting into the right positions, because if I did I'd get goals.
"It was nice from a personal point of view, but even better for the team to get a win like that."
Victory provided visible relief to boss Steve Bruce, whose position had been called into question by some after 14 games without a win.
Bent said: "It is not nice to hear criticism of our manager. He's been fantastic for us.
"The players are behind him 100 per cent. We all think he's a fantastic manager, especially myself, and he's definitely the right man to take us forward."
Bent's hat-trick was the first in the Premier League at the Stadium of Light, and the first top-flight treble by a Sunderland player since Kevin Phillips achieved the feat on Boxing Day 2000 at Bradford.
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Monday 21 May 2012
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