Darren Bent wants permanent captain role at Aston Villa

Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has expressed his determination to become the permanent captain at the club one day.

Villa boss Paul Lambert has made it clear that Stiliyan Petrov will remain the club captain as his battle against acute leukaemia continues.

However, he is hoping that the 28-year-old former Tottenham Hotspur man will be the right choice in his absence. Bent described receiving the armband as a "great honour" and claimed that he would be "delighted" if he could keep it for the upcoming campaign.

"It's a great honour to captain a side like Aston Villa, especially after someone like Stiliyan Petrov, who has been captaining Villa for a lot of years," said Bent.

"If I can hang on to it, I'll be delighted, and that's a big goal of mine. The gaffer just said to me 'I've given you the armband for now, and I just want you to justify why I've given it to you'.

"I was captain of Charlton for a year and I enjoyed that and if I get to keep it this year I'll be delighted."

Bent moved to Villa Park in January 2011 for a club-record fee of £18 million.