Darren Bent has said that Aston Villa's new manager must have the hunger to match the fans' ambition.

Owner Randy Lerner is reportedly jetting into the country on Wednesday to run the rule over the candidates for the vacant post, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believed to be a frontrunner.

Bent said that the club is in dire need of stability and believes that the new man, whoever he may be, must be the one who brings that to Villa Park.

"There's lots of clubs where the manager's been in charge for a while and you watch the club grow," Bent told the Birmingham Mail. "Villa under Martin O'Neill, back in the day, finished sixth three years in a row and were on the up before whatever happened, happened.

"A new manager will bring stability to Aston Villa so that the club can move forward and grow. Whoever gets the job I am sure will understand the passion of the club and what that means to the fans. He'll be hungry and understand what it means to the fans."

Bent moved to Aston Villa from Sunderland for £24m in 2011.