Bent double exposes Poyet in blame game

Darren Bent has spent the last three months trying to avoid looking at the Premier League table, but perhaps former Tottenham assistant manager Gustavo Poyet would now like to turn a blind eye.

It has taken just two weeks for new manager Harry Redknapp to repair the damage caused by his predecessor Juande Ramos and guide Spurs out of the relegation zone.

Poyet chose the eve of this match at the City of Manchester Stadium to speak for the first time about his and Ramos's sackings and blame the players for the club's poor start.

According to the Uruguayan, the reason for their failure was that half the team didn't know anything about football' and yet results since Redknapp replaced them point the finger closer to home.

The confidence of many individuals in the team has been revolutionised in a short time and none more so than Bent, who is now the top English scorer in the Premier League after his brace against City yesterday took his tally to seven for the season.

Poyet may be justified in questioning some members of the dressing room considering the massive transformation and yet Bent says the explanation behind his renaissance is simple.

He said: "Harry shows more belief in me than Juande did and I am starting to repay that. He has played me in the majority of the games since he took over and I'm just trying to keep fit and stay focussed. He hasn't complicated anything. No disrespect to Ramos, but under him things were a bit too particular, whereas Harry has come in and we are all relaxed. He has shown everyone that they are good players and that he believes in all the players.