Raheem Sterling growing up fast as England and Man City star reveals how he has coped

RAHEEM STERLING comes of age next month, though he could be forgiven thinking he has already been through enough to last a lifetime.

 

"Everyone has the same dreams, but I'm just trying to make those dreams a reality. I've set myself goals for every season that I go into and that's to win everything this season.

"It's just another year of trying to achieve something. I'm not going to hide anything. I want to do my best for my country and hopefully be up there with some of the best players who have played and try to achieve 100 caps in the future.

"It's a long time away, I've got 18, but 100 caps is definitely my ambition towards the end of my career."

 

Sterling has had to grow up quickly as a Premier League footballer

 

The youngster is already an integral part of Roy Hodgson's England side

That City's next game pits him against former club Liverpool means all of the rancour and recrimination sparked by his acrimonious £49million defection in the summer will be aired again, but, in the meantime, England is his primary focus.

If Sterling must prove he can help take his club to the next level, then Roy Hodgson will expect him to be one of those carrying the nation's hopes at Euro 2016 next summer.

The attacker will not shirk the responsibility. He believes England will reap the rewards of his move to City, both in terms of improvements to his all-round game but also by virtue of him developing a stronger mentality because of the pressure he is under to win every week.

Tomorrow's friendly with Spain, followed by France's visit to Wembley next Tuesday, provides a step-up in class from that which Hodgson's side have become accustomed and Sterling is aware of the importance of laying down a marker.

"Part of moving was for my development, trying to get myself better as a player, definitely helping my club and definitely helping my country in big tournaments," said Sterling, speaking at England's training base in the hills behind Benidorm.

 

"If you are in a team with a winning mentality it can help if you bring it with you to England.

"If you're winning stuff at your club, and obviously other players are winning stuff with their clubs, then it will always be good if we're going into a tournament to have a winning mentality in the team.

"That's definitely something you want.

"Spain have got world class players and I like to watch players from different teams.

"They have really good technical players who always want to get on the ball and that is something I want to do. I always want to be on the ball and create stuff.

"Obviously for the last 12-15 months we've gone unbeaten, but this week is going to be a massive test for us against two of the big nations in Europe.

"This is where we get to see where we are for the tournament in the summer. Hopefully we can show what we can do."

 

Sterling has also made himself crucial in Manchester City's line up

Asked where he can improve and the answer is straight-forward - "goals, goals, goals and more goals," said Sterling - but that the focus is back on the what he does on the pitch, rather than off it, can only be positive.

"It was difficult," he said recalling the transfer saga of the summer. "No one likes to hear the negatives. You want to hear positives all the time. But the most important thing was I tried to not watch TV, or read anything on my phone, or anything like that. I tried to spend time with my daughter and mum and make the day go like that.

"My daughter, Melody Rose has been massive for me, to be fair. I had her over for the night at Halloween.

"After the games, knowing that I could have the weekend with my daughter is a good feeling. At first, it was tough but now I'm getting along with her really well."

Ensuring his career is child's play will be a change from the norm.