Darren Bent

Tottenham striker Darren Bent is hoping to end the season on a positive note after a slow start to his Spurs career.

The striker was widely regarded as one of England's best young talents when he arrived at White Hart Lane from Charlton Athletic in the summer, but a succession of niggling injuries and limited opportunities in the first team have seen him struggle to reproduce the form which catapulted him into the national side.

Bent, who cost Spurs £16million, said: "You don't become a bad player overnight.

"Obviously a lot of things have been said about the price tag, but that's what Charlton valued me at.

"I scored a lot of goals for them and it wasn't me that made the price tag, it was them. Obviously there has been a lot of criticism, saying 'well, he hasn't done this, he hasn't done that'.

"But, to be fair, I haven't had a run of 10 games in the team. I think I've started three on the trot, if that. Any striker needs a rhythm to score goals. I had that rhythm at Charlton, which is why I scored a lot of goals.

"If I was playing every game I'd show people why I was worth the £16million, but, playing 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there, starting one game, you're never going to be able to show the people why they bought you for that amount of money."

He added: "The Spurs fans haven't seen the best of me and vice-versa, but I'm a confident guy, always positive, and I know where I want to be. And I know that, on my day, I can destroy anyone. I'm so pumped up and raring to go, it's unbelievable

"My message to the Spurs fans? To give me a chance first, and then I'll show what I'm made of.

"Yes, staying at Charlton was the easy option, but I wanted to come and play for one of the best clubs in the country - Tottenham.

"Life is all about timing, grabbing your opportunity when it presents itself, and that's what I intend to do here."