Soccer

Pardew backs Bent to lift Charlton

Alan Pardew has backed fit-again captain Darren Bent to lead Charlton to Barclays Premiership safety when he returns from the…

Mon Feb 12 2007 - 00:00

Alan Pardew has backed fit-again captain Darren Bent to lead Charlton to Barclays Premiership safety when he returns from the injury which has sideline him since December 30th.

The 23-year-old England international has been suffering with a knee problem but his rehabilitation has been stepped up ahead of an expected return for the relegation showdown against West Ham.

The match will see him face his former boss Alan Curbishley at The Valley on February 24th.

Ireland's Andy Reid also on the comeback trail after a niggling hamstring complaint.

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Bent is the Addicks leading scorer with 11 goals, and was made skipper towards the end of Les Reed's ill-fated reign as head coach.

With club captain Luke Young sidelined with a knee problem, Pardew saw no reason to change following his arrival as manager on Christmas Eve.

And now the the Charlton boss feels the return of their talisman can lift the whole squad.

"We all know how important it is to have a natural goalscorer in your team," said Pardew. "Darren's return is very much the key for us, perhaps more so than any other player. I think all the players are aware of that.

"We had a great start here with Darren Bent as captain, we drew and won — then to lose him was an awful blow to my staff and my players.

"Darren needs to accept that pressure, which I think he does. He handles it very well.

"He will come back as captain and help us get out of this situation."

Following the weekend's results, which included a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford for Charlton, Pardew finds his team six points adrift of safety.

With a free fixture list ahead because of the FA Cup, the squad have travelled to Spain, where Pardew is eager to use the time productively.

Charlton have a run of matches coming up against the sides around them in the Premiership table which will make or break their campaign.

It is a run of matches that Pardew intends his side to be fully prepared for. "The next two weeks will be very, very important to us as we prepare the team physically and mentally to be stronger than anybody else."

Right fullback Young, meanwhile, is also eyeing a return to fitness following a knee problem which has kept the England defender out since before Christmas.