Practice makes perfect for Darren Bent

Villa's record signing Darren Bent revealed there is no magical secret to his goalscoring prowess - just sheer hard work.

The 26-year-old striker joined from Sunderland this week for £24m and comes to Villa Park with some impressive statistics to back up his hefty price tag.

Bent scored 25 goals for the Black Cats last season and over the past five years he has netted 81 times in the Premier League.

During his time with Ipswich, Charlton, Tottenham and Sunderland he has scored a total of 153 club goals in 363 senior appearances.

But when asked if there was a special formula which has made him so prolific Bent placed an emphasis on the extra hours he puts in on the training ground.

"I'd say I'm a natural finisher but, at the same time, I have to work at it," Bent told the Express & Star.

"I always practise. I stayed behind after training with Nathan Delfouneso and Kyle Walker to practise finishing for ages yesterday.

"That is something I've always done. To be a good finisher you have got to practise.

"Of course some of it is natural. But for me, you have to keep working on your finishing because in a game you might only get half of a chance and you don't get time to think about it."

Bent also admitted he has been influenced by several strikers down the years and he has tried to add the best aspects of each to his game.

"Robbie Fowler for me was the best finisher to ever play the game in my opinion," said Bent.

"I was an Arsenal fan when I was younger so I used to look up to Ian Wright but as soon as Thierry Henry came on the scene I was in awe of him. In my opinion he was probably the best guy to play in the Premier League. I used to watch him religiously on Match Of The Day."