Bentley delight at hat-trick

Blackburn striker David Bentley has vowed to keep working hard on his game.

The former Arsenal man only clinched a permanent move to Ewood Park on transfer deadline day, but repaid manager Mark Hughes' faith in him with a fine display in the 4-3 victory on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old is now confident that he can fulfil all his early promise, and thanked Hughes for instilling a sense of belief into him.

"I think it took me a long time to settle as a player because I came straight out of youth team football," he told Sky Sports.

"I had an enjoyable time at Norwich and learnt a lot but now I feel I can really kick on and get better week in, week out.

"I think the management have encouraged all the players to believe in themselves a bit more, and we are starting to move in the right direction now. It is good to be a part of it and Europe is a real possibility now."

Bentley was also relieved to finish on the winning team against Manchester United after The Red Devils came from 4-1 down to put Blackburn under real pressure and nearly salvage a point.

"I thought we were going to cruise the game at 4-1, but United came right back at us and we were hanging on a little bit towards the end," he reflected.

"From a personal point of view it was a great feeling to get three goals, like a dream come true.

The forward could not resist a dig at Rio Ferdinand, after the England star's header over his own goalkeeper allowed him to nip in for his second goal.

"It was great vision from Rio. I told him to flick it on and there I was to score."