Aston Villa striker Darren Bent says he'd be happy to play for England with Harry Redknapp as manager.

The manager who infamously said "his missus" could have scored a chance Bent missed for Tottenham against Portsmouth in 2009. That cruel barb has dogged the striker ever since - but Bent is a forgiving soul.

He told The Sun: "If Harry gets the job then good on him.

"Hopefully if I can get back from injury in time he will pick me.

"I know people still talk about what he said even now. But I'm not annoyed about it any more.

"I've lost count of how many goals I've scored since then - I think I scored two against Bolton the very next week.

"That's Harry and he can say what he wants, and managers do make off-the-cuff remarks. But that is one everyone remembers.

"You have to take it and move on. It doesn't bother me now although it bothered me probably more than it should have done at the time. My attitude now is if you score enough goals, that's the best answer to any criticism."