Graphic: the crock squad

Fabio Capello is not the most outgoing individual, but Darren Bent, given his experiences with another foreign coach in the past year, considers the England manager to be the life and soul of the party. The Tottenham Hotspur striker revealed yesterday that Juande Ramos, the club's former head coach, had barely uttered a word to him in 12 months at White Hart Lane, a taciturn approach that makes Capello resemble Harry Redknapp in comparison.

Bent has thrived under Redknapp's more hands-on methods, scoring seven times in seven matches under the new manager to earn an international recall. Like Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch at Portsmouth, Bent, 24, is happy to give credit to Redknapp for his resurgence.

“I think Ramos said about four words to me in a year, whereas Harry has come in and told me exactly what he wants,” Bent said. “I've managed to turn things around for myself and start getting some goals.

“Harry said he has seen me for a number of years and this is how he wants me to play and knows this is when I am at my best. He just tells me to go out and express myself and play like I usually do, whereas Juande tried to complicate it.

“Under Juande, it was quite difficult at times. The structure of the team was difficult and we weren't playing as well as we knew we could. At times I wondered why the club had bought me [Tottenham paid £16.5 million to Charlton Athletic in 2007] and you start to question their motives.

“A lot of people around me were saying I was going to leave or be sold, but I wanted to stay strong and positive. I always knew that if I was patient and stayed confident and focused, my chance would come.”

Bent has been similarly impressed by Capello's approach, the Italian seeking out his new recruit for a pep talk before training yesterday. The essence of the conversation was that, if selected, Bent should keep things simple and focus on getting behind Germany's last man and finishing accurately. “I have spoken to Fabio quite a lot since I have been here and he has told me what he thinks about me as a player and what he wants,” Bent said.

“As long as I know what direction I'm going and how I'm doing, then I should be fine. He called me over and told me why he picked me in the squad. I just listened and he told me what he expects of me and how he wants me to play. I know I need to do that and hopefully I will get my opportunity.”

Given Capello's preference for a little-and-large strike partnership, Bent may not start in Berlin - Crouch and Defoe is a more obvious pairing - but he is sure to feature and is confident of taking advantage of any chances that are presented.

“I am a firm believer that if you can score a lot of goals for your club, then you can do it for your country, especially with the calibre of players in the England squad,” he said. “You can create chances from anywhere.

“It is a disappointment some of the players have got injured and can't play, but it gives chances for others to show what they are about. Sometimes that works in your favour. The German team won't know too much about some of the players in the squad and we might catch them by surprise.”