Jones: Darren Bent call-up is fully deserved

Nov 14 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

KENWYNE Jones is delighted to see Darren Bent back in the England squad as he praised the striker for the way he has looked to build a partnership at Sunderland.

Jones never gelled with Djibril Cissé last season and the pair rarely spoke off the pitch as dressing room divisions undermined the Black Cats’ battle against relegation.

But it has been completely different with Bent, whose easy-going personality sits well with Jones’ own relaxed persona and the Trinidad and Tobago international is happy to have helped his strike partner regain international recognition. Bent has undoubtedly benefited from playing alongside a centre-forward as strong and powerful as the aerially dominant Jones, who in turn fully appreciates having someone alongside him who thrives on trying to feed off flick-ons and knock-downs.

“Darren Bent’s call-up is fully deserved, of course it is,” said Jones, who still has another two games to sit out following his sending-off against West Ham a fortnight ago. “You can’t argue with the goals he has scored and how well he has done at Sunderland since he came here in the summer.

“I don’t know whether the media have put the England manager under pressure to recall him, but it is the right decision. I hope he does well because I think he deserves it. Hopefully he will be able to stake a claim before the squad is picked for the World Cup. Everyone gets on in the club and that is my relationship with Darren. We hang out together every day more or less, whether it’s in the dressing room or out on the pitch.

“We do stuff together outside of football as well and I think that helps the team as a whole.”