IN-FORM Blackburn Rovers midfielder David Bentley believes he's finally starting to fulfil his true potential after being given a taste of the real world' by his manager Mark Hughes.

The England Under 21 international, who famously became the first player to score a Premiership hat-trick against Manchester United last season, has been a revelation on the right for Rovers so far this term.

And the 22-year-old puts his metamorphosis firmly down to Hughes, who has taught him how to survive at the very top level.

Bentley has always possessed the natural ability to become a major star in English football.

When he first burst onto the scene as a precocious teenager at Arsenal, he was instantly hailed as the new Dennis Bergkamp' as fans became intoxicated by his silky skills.

But, for all his blossoming talent, Bentley struggled to establish himself as a regular at Highbury, where his path into the first team was blocked by a number of big-money foreign signings, so he finally cut the apron strings and joined Blackburn in January.

It was a bold move by Bentley, but it's one that has ultimately paid off, as he's now starting to sparkle week in, week out in the Premiership after grasping the importance of fusing steel and silk.

"I was brought up at Arsenal and all I did was play football.

"I never worried about that dogged side of the game," said Bentley.

"Physically and mentally, I wasn't ready for the step up to the Premiership, to be honest.

"It was just about having fun at Arsenal. We were beating teams every week and, technically, you just did what you wanted to do.

"But that's not the real world.

"The Premier League is physical now, and there's a lot of athletes in the game.

"The technical side of things is probably not the biggest part of it any more.

"It's more about having the physical and mental strength, so you have to be physically and mentally ready to compete."

Spending a year at Hughes' boot camp has helped turn Bentley into a more rounded midfield player.

Even in training, Hughes demands an edge to Rovers' play, and that tough mentality is now starting to be reflected in Bentley's performances in the Premiership.

"We train at a high pace and at a high intensity.

"That's how the manager wants it, and that's the way it has to be," said the Rovers midfielder.

"It's all about consistency. When you're a young lad, people maybe expect too much of you.

"It's been a hard couple of years for me to find that sort of consistency.

"It's hard, physically and mentally, to get ready for Premiership football matches when there's so much focus on them.

"You can't just turn up one in five games and do it.

"You're always judged every day of your life.

"At the minute, every day of my life, I'm looking to take that next step forward.

"Every game I'm looking to be consistent, and I'm not going to drop my consistency levels through the season at any point because I can't afford to."

It's a measure of Bentley's progress at Blackburn that people are now starting to talk about him as a future England international, which is high praise indeed when you consider Steve McClaren is already overloaded with bright, young talent on the right hand side of midfield.

Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Jermaine Pennant are all competing for the chance to replace David Beckham, but Bentley is more concerned by challenges closer to home.

"It's one man's decision and if he (Steve McClaren) picks me then that would be brilliant.

"But at the minute, I really am just concentrating on playing well for Blackburn.

"There's a lot of top players in this country.

"The team that is playing now - the Gerrards and the Lampards - is full of top, top players, and they're going to be top players for years to come.

"Those are the players you aspire to be because they've done it consistency at the top level for the last five or six years.

"If I can reach those levels then, hopefully, I can make the step up to the England team one day.

"But for now, all I'm worried about is getting in the Blackburn team."

Bentley has the perfect platform on which to showcase his talents when Manchester United visit Ewood tomorrow.

In the corresponding fixture last season, he fired Rovers to a famous victory with a brilliant hat-trick.

The matchball from that game now takes pride of place in his house but, rather than dwell on the greatest night of his career so far, he'd rather focus on making even greater memories.

"I've got the ball on display in the house and I got it signed by all the players," added Bentley.

"But, to be honest, I'm not the type of person who tends to look back on things.

"It's about what I can do in the future, not what I've done in the past."

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