DARREN Bent admits he is not panicking about his recent goal drought but hopes he can put and end to it against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.

The Black Cats striker is currently on a three-game run without a goal, the longest he has gone without hitting the back of the net since he arrived on Wearside in August 2009.

Last season, Bent notched up an impressive 25 goals in his first season for the Black Cats and although he has endured a stop start campaign this year, he still has seven goals.

Steve Bruce’s side face the Premier League leaders on Sunday and in the same fixture last season, the Black Cats came within 30 seconds of beating Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, only for a 90th minute Anton Ferdinand own-goal to give the Red Devils draw.

Bent had given Bruce’s men a seventh minute lead and while he admits he is relaxed about his current drought, the England international hopes he can repeat last year’s good start.

“It is a bit alien to me not scoring,” the former Tottenham forward said. “At the same time I try not to panic, I try to stay relaxed. I know with the kind of guys I’ve got around me the chances will appear, you need to be relaxed to take it.

“The main thing is you don’t go and hide. I think when people are on a goal drought they tend to hide and don’t make as many runs. I probably make more runs because I’m desperate to get a goal. I just know one will eventually fall for me.

“It would be nice to get one at Old Trafford again. I got one quite quickly last season and that seemed to settle the team down.

“When I was younger and I was on a bit of a goal drought I’d panic about it.

“My dad’s played football and he’s probably the one who taught me that. If you don’t score for a couple of games it’s nothing.

“Berbatov went ten games without scoring. I don’t think I’ve done that in my career. It’s just about how you come out of those situations.”

For much of his time at the Stadium of Light, Bent has shouldered the pressure of being Sunderland’s only real goalscorer, something Bruce was keen to change.

And with on-loan Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck and record signing Asamoah Gyan both chipping in this season, the pressure appears to have been lifted.

Both forwards have been in good form recently, but the former Ipswich striker insists he is happy for others to be scoring and admits the team’s achievements are more important than his.

“Of course (I’m happy to see others scoring), because I had so many positives from last season,” Bent said.

“I won the football writer’s player of the year award and Sunderland’s player of the year so last season was by far the best season of my career and those years don’t come round too often.

“I enjoyed it last season but this season is very much about the team and other people are scoring goals.

“I’ve had those good moments but as long as I keep scoring I’ll be happy but the main thing is if the team keep winning, I’ll be over the moon.

“It’s great to win the awards, but if it was a choice of me winning the awards like I did last season or the team finishing fifth place then it obvious which one I’m going to pick.”

“I think last season I was so desperate to just show people that I can score goals, because some people might have forgotten while I was at Spurs.

“So it was just a case of getting back in the team and I was itching to prove people wrong, that was my driving force last season.’’ He added: “This season it’s more about a team objective to be honest, if the team can finish in the top half of the table, especially the top seven then that would be the highest moment of my career.

“I think this season has been quite stop start, obviously with the injuries and going away with England and getting injured but then getting the goal for England.

“It’s been up and down this season but form wise I think I’m still playing as well as I did last year.”