Bent ready for the fight

New Birmingham City forward Marcus Bent has accepted that he will have a fight on his hands to claim a first-team place next season.

The Blues have brought in a number of new signings, including Bent, and the former Charlton forward will have plenty of competition on his hands to make it into the side with James McFadden, Kevin Phillips, Cameron Jerome and Garry O'Connor all vying for the forwards role.

"Competition's a good thing, keeps you on your toes, keeps you wanting it more," Bent told BBC WM.

"So if you do get yourself in the team then you'd better keep yourself in there."

Bent confirmed that he had expected to stay in the Premier League, after being told he would be offered a contract by Wigan but that never materialised and he now believes that he will be bouncing back to the top flight of English football with Birmingham.

"I was promised a contract at Wigan - unfortunately it didn't evolve," Bent added.

"I haven't spoken to Steve (Bruce) since then. So I decided to come to Birmingham because of the squad they've got.

"Birmingham is a team that's just come down. They've got a lot of ability and a mixture of young and mature.

"I'm sure, with the squad we've got, we're going straight back up."