"The players must take responsibility" says Bent

Aston Villa striker Darren Bent says that the players must accept some blame for Alex McLeish's departure.

McLeish led Villa to 16th place this season, as they narrowly avoided relegation.

McLeish's contract with the Midlands club has since been terminated, and Bent feels that he knows why.

"The players must take responsibility too, including me.

"Managers always get the brunt of the criticism because they make the decisions but, collectively, we haven't done well enough over the season.

As chairman Randy Lerner looks for a replacement, those close to the club are expecting Norwich's Paul Lambert or Roberto Martinez from Wigan to take over.

Bent - who didn't make Roy Hodgson's Euro 2012 squad - says that his focus will be on pushing Villa up the Premier League table next season.

"My total focus is on Villa next season now. I am confident we will improve and have a much better season. The previous one was obviously not great but this is a massive club and we have to make sure that was just a blip.

"We need to get behind the new manager when he comes in and put all our efforts into the new campaign."