Villa have stomach for fight - Bent

And the in-form England forward believes those qualities were on display even though they failed to hold on for victory in an eventful Barclays Premier League 2-2 draw at Everton on Saturday, in which he scored both Villa goals.

The 27-year-old said: "We believe in our ability and if we keep playing well and showing the kind of performance we did in the second half, I am sure we will be fine."

He added: "It was a good result. It was a disappointment after how hard we worked in the second half, coming out of the blocks as fast as we did.

"But the main thing is we picked up a point and we will kick on. It didn't look like a penalty and we are disappointed with that but it is part of football and you have to deal with it."

Bent's two goals took his tally for the club since his high-profile move from Sunderland in January to five and maintained his form after scoring for England last week.

The former Tottenham striker hit the second in England's 2-0 Euro 2012 qualifying win in Wales, his third for his country in three appearances.

His output is likely to be crucial for Villa, who remain just three points above bottom side Wigan, in their remaining seven games but he is not interested in personal accolades.

He said: "It was a good game in Cardiff and this was a good performance in the second half but it was unfortunate for us we couldn't get all three points.

"It is not really about me being the star. It is about us being a team, picking up the points and trying to move up the league."

Source: PA

Source: PA