Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is adamant that his side won't get distracted by Darren Bent's return to the Stadium of Light when they face Aston Villa this weekend.
The England international made the switch to Villa Park in January despite only being with the Black Cats for just over a year.
"His goalscoring record here was quite staggering and I think you could argue that the goals he gave Aston Villa when he left us last season probably kept them up," Sky Sports News quotes Bruce as saying.
"He could have been, in my opinion, one of the greats of Sunderland, and I'm talking about up there with the very best goalscorers in the club's history, if he had hung around. He would have broken a lot of records.
"But that didn't happen and it's gone now, it's finished, it's history and we all have to move on."
Bruce has assured that his side will not be overawed by the return of the 27-year-old.
"As far as I'm concerned, the overriding thing is to focus on Aston Villa and not get sidetracked by the sideshow of Darren Bent's return to the club," he added.
Bent scored 32 goals for Sunderland.
Danielle Joynson
