Aston Villa striker Darren Bent insists he's not celebrating Manchester United rival Wayne Rooney's England absence.

He has so far failed to convince fans that he should be an automatic choice for his country. Scoring against the world's best team at Wembley this weekend should do the trick.

Bent, 27, said: "I know you have to be selfish as a player but it's not a case of me thinking 'Great, Rooney's not playing. You just have to concentrate on yourself.

"I'm playing as well as I ever have for England. The ball's going in the net and if I keep working hard and keep doing that and proving myself it should be ok.

"When I'm not scoring I'm miserable. I snap at a lot of things. I'm not as upbeat. I get really flat and down. It's hard to even watch football.

"When it's going well it's amazing, everything seems to flow. No striker on the planet could describe why it happens but it just does.

"Even sometimes when you're not having the best of games things just drop to you. In Montenegro Ashley Young put the ball across for me and it all just fell so nicely and before you know it, it's in.

"I've run out at Wembley for England and in the Carling Cup final for Spurs. It's a fantastic feeling."