The Black Cats striker plundered a hat-trick to end his side's 14-match wait for a Barclays Premier League victory.

The £10m man claimed a second-half treble in the Wearsiders' 4-0 demolition of Bolton Wanderersto ease their relegation fears at the Stadium of Light.

It took his tally for the season to 19, a figure only Manchester United's Wayne Rooney has bettered, and left Bruce trumpeting his claims once again.

The manager said: "I have had a bad enough time trying to pick a team for the last three months, so I am not going to tell Fabio Capello how to do it because he has been there, worn the T-shirt and done it.

"All I can say is he must be in his thoughts, he has to be because of his goalscoring exploits.

"For somebody at the very highest level to have the same amount of goals as [Didier] Drogba is quite staggering. Fair play to the kid, I am delighted for him."

very enjoyable

Bent's second-half hat-trick, which came after Fraizer Campbell's first-minute strike, ended the Black Cats' wait for a first three-point haul since 21st November, a run of 14 matches.

Bruce said: "It's just relief that we have got a victory. I am pleased for everybody concerned with the club and delighted that we have got one.

"But that's all it is, it's just a victory at the moment. But it was the manner of it that was very enjoyable.

"Towards the end, we could have scored six or eight - Benty could have scored five himself."

The win lifted the Black Cats six points clear of the bottom three and into the relative comfort of 13th place as they leapfrogged Wanderers, who are now 14th.

They got their noses in front with just 44 seconds gone when Campbell collected his first league goal for the club, but it was Bent who made the major contribution on a night when the home side appeared rejuvenated.

Campbell's strike was just the Black Cats' third in seven outings, but Bent was to match that tally himself in the second half.

He confidently beat Jussi Jaaskelainen after running on to Lee Cattermole's 64th-minute pass, and then converted a penalty 10 minutes later after Sam Ricketts had bundled him over to earn his second yellow card of the match.

Bent completed a hat-trick with two minutes remaining and has now set his sights on Sunday's home fixture against Manchester City.