Bent will battle on

Villa striker takes England omission on the chin

Last Updated: May 16, 2012 9:43pm

Darren Bent: Aston Villa striker did not make England's squad for Euro 2012

Darren Bent has taken his omission from England's Euro 2012 squad on the chin and has vowed to force his way into Roy Hodgson's plans in the future.

The Aston Villa striker was always facing a battle to book a seat on the plane for Poland and Ukraine after suffering an ankle injury against Wigan in late February.

That ruled him out of the remainder of the Premier League season and it would have been a gamble for Hodgson to include a player who had not featured for almost three months.

Wayne Rooney, Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe and Danny Welbeck took the four striking berths for the summer tournament, with Bent now keen to focus his attentions on Villa to help secure a return to the international fold next season.

Stronger

Bent told the club's official website: "I am determined to come back stronger like I have the previous two times I have missed out. This won't stop me or deter me.

"I now look to the World Cup in two year and will try to be involved in that one. I want to put myself in contention again.

"My focus is on Villa next season now. I am confident we will improve and have a much better season. The previous one was obviously not great but this is a massive club and we have to make sure that was just a blip.

"We need to get behind the new manager when he comes in and put all our efforts into the new campaign."