Goal hero Darren Bent believes he can blossom under the leadership of new manager and former striker Joe Royle.

The teenage frontrunner scored the all-important winner in last night's UEFA Cup second round first leg success against Slovan Liberec.

Town gave themselves a slender 1-0 lead to take into the return match in the Czech Republic on November 14.

And, after emerging from the bench to steal the glory, Bent said: "The manager told me to enjoy the game and play my heart out and that's exactly what I did.

"It was nice to get a win for him in his first game in charge.

"He's made a real difference already this week and the lads have been buzzing in training.

"And on a personal note, I'm particularly excited about working with a manager who used to be a striker."

Published Friday November 1, 2002

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