Darren Bent believes he is developing into a better all-round player as he is now working on every aspect of his game.
England striker working hard to take his game to a new level
Darren Bent believes he is developing into a better all-round player as he is now working on every aspect of his game.
The 28-year-old is renowned as one of the best finishers in the league which has seen him plunder goals at Charlton, Tottenham, Sunderland and now Aston Villa.
For large parts of this season, the England striker has been asked to lead Alex McLeish's attack as the sole striker.
This role has seen him working on his hold-up play and his closing down of defenders, something he admits he's been more than happy to do.
Capable
"I know I'm more than capable of doing it," he told the club's
official website.
"For Charlton sometimes I played in the hole and for Tottenham I played with someone and for a lot of last season I played on my own.
"So it's something I've had to adapt to and something I've had to get better at. I think it's getting better."
Bent, however, feels he's now starting to see the benefits of his new approach and that he is becoming a better player for it.
Bow
"I know it's not the strongest part of my game, because the strongest part of my game is obviously getting in behind, scoring goals and being effective in the box," he added.
"But it's just adding another string to my bow really.
"I've always tried to shut people down and to be fair in the situation we're in right now that's what we need to do.
"You've got to do the dirty jobs too. When you work hard you always seem to get rewards - that's the way it normally works out.
"If you chase enough a chance may come to you, it might slip under the defender's foot or they might make a mistake and that's what I try and tell myself every game."
