Bent bid to end goal drought.

MARCUS Bent reckons that he can end Alex McLeish's search for an effective lone ranger.

While many Blues fans have disagreed with his approach, Big Eck has persisted with his favoured 4-5-1 formation for the majority of the season.

So that has meant that Blues have often taken to the field with just one striker from the off.

With Christian Benitez only being gradually introduced to the fray, that responsibility has largely fallen to Garry O'Connor.

And despite the Scotland international's best efforts, he is yet to convince in that role.

But,while he may currently be out of favour, the past suggests that, in Bent, McLeish has another ideal candidate to play the lone frontman.

The 31-year-old striker enjoyed some of his finest years as a professional footballer in that particular role, so could he be the surprise answer to Big Eck's goal-scoring/creating problems? "When I was at Everton we played one up front and we got into fourth place. I scored a number of goals and created a lot of chances so it's a role that I know and one that I can work hard in. It's not foreign to me," said Bent.

"But that is down to the hierarchy of the manager and the coaches. We will see how it goes.

"If I do get to play it then I'd be excited to do it."

Bent has been sidelined with a series of hamstring injuries but insists that he's not far frombeing able to play a full 90 minutes.

"We've got a lot of quality players in the side at the moment. I'd say that I'd be up for selection now but realistically I probably wouldn't be 90 minutes match fit," he added.