Bent wants skipper's role

Aston Villa striker Darren Bent is determined to hold onto to the captaincy of the side on a permanent basis.

Boss Paul Lambert has made it clear that Stiliyan Petrov very much remains the club captain as he continues his battle against acute leukaemia but he's hoping Bent shows himself to be the right man to lead the side in the player's absence. Bent said: "It's a great honour to captain a side like Aston Villa, especially after someone like Stiliyan Petrov, who has been captaining Villa for a lot of years. "If I can hang on to it, I'll be delighted, and that's a big goal of mine. "The gaffer just said to me 'I've given you the armband for now, and I just want you to justify why I've given it to you'. "That's it really, he's not really put too much pressure on me. I want to just try and lead by example and try and be a good role model. "I was captain of Charlton for a year and I enjoyed that and if I get to keep it this year I'll be delighted."