Sunderland boss Steve Bruce says it is time to move on from the furore surrounding striker Darren Bent's move to Aston Villa.

Bent joined Villa earlier this week in a deal worth up to £24m, and Bruce was upset with the way it was handled.

Bruce said: "All I questioned was that I expected someone like (Villa manager) Gerard Houllier to give me a call. It was not a blast.

"It is time to draw a line under it, say 'let's move on' and be big boys."

Bruce added that the timing of the transfer was disappointing but paid tribute to two-goal hero Kieran Richardson and his side's character at Blackpool after the exit of top scorer Bent.

"The one thing I have learned about the squad is that in adversity they will always respond," Bruce added.

"The derby springs to mind [1-1 draw at home against Newcastle] and after what happened this week they could have felt sorry for themselves.

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"But all credit to them. They have produced one of our better performances away from home.

"Kieran was certainly the outstanding player on the pitch in the first half, the electric pace he had coming from deep. Credit to him, he has been terrific all season.

"Both goals were good finishes and we know he is capable of doing that."

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, who spent much of his post-match interview fending off questions about the latest bids for captain Charlie Adam, felt his side were unfortunate not to take something from the game.

"It's ironic," Holloway said. "We probably deserved something from this - yet in the game at their place, we probably didn't and we won.

"They had 32 shots in the first game and didn't get any goals and probably only had three and scored two. Well played to them. They showed great skill and spirit.

"I really enjoyed the game, we had the better of the second half and showed fantastic spirit. I am very, very proud of the effort they put in. My boys never stopped but at this level you must take your chances."

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