PAUL Clement has hit back at his former striker Darren Bent after he criticised the Reading manager.

The frontman was released by Derby County after failing to make a single appearance in the 2017/18 season and he gave a scathing assessment of Clement's managerial credentials before the Championship opener.

Talking before the Rams' 2-1 win at the Madejski Stadium on Friday, Bent, 34, said Clement's sacking in February 2016 was inevitable.

He said: "When he got the sack at Derby, when we were 5th, people questioned it, but we knew it was inevitable he would crumble.

"Training had changed, the intensity had changed, the philosophies he came in with at the start of the season had gone out of the window because we weren’t getting the right results.

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"He didn’t like confrontation and when senior players went to see him about why they weren’t in the team they weren’t getting answers."

Tempers between the two had always been frayed, with Clement famously dropping Bent after he arrived late for a match.

Bent had scored an 89th minute winner against MK Dons and was then left out for a match against Brentford a week later.

Responding to the criticisms on Twitter, Clement said: "I sense some bitterness here, which is normal if a player does not play much.

"It is never a difficult decision to leave out a player who is overweight and lazy."

Read what Clement had to say after his side were beaten by a 94th minute goal on Friday