Sunderland ace Darren Bent isn't taking anything for granted as he chases a place in England's World Cup squad.

The former Charlton frontman finished the 2005-06 campaign as the highest-scoring Englishman in the top flight with 18 goals. But he was still left out of Sven Goran Eriksson's final 23-man squad for that summer's finals in Germany.

And Bent, who did not feature in Capello's squad for last month's final two qualifiers against Ukraine and Belarus, admitted: "I can't count my chickens.

"Every player dreams of playing in a World Cup and I'm no different. But I know it's going to be very difficult to get into the squad. I'll never give up trying and hopefully I can do enough to get selected.

"But, even if I finish the season as the highest scorer in the country, I wouldn't automatically expect to be in the squad. Mr Capello has a way of playing and a structure to his team. And if you don't fit, you won't get in.

"All I can do is keep playing well and scoring goals for Sunderland."