After THAT gun furore, Sterling reveals another tattoo — a perfect 10 for England
RAHEEM’S REFRESHING AS PLAYERS FRONT UP
FOR the best part of an hour yesterday the sports hall at St George’s Park looked more like an airport check-in area, with 23 England players sitting at 23 desks in a refreshing approach by the FA to media interviews.
Unsurprisingly, the longest queue formed at the desk of Raheem Sterling and not just because of flight delays.
There was a whole host of subjects to tackle with the young Manchester City forward and to his credit he was more than happy to discuss them.
Sterling was bright, engaging, admitting even that he could see why some reacted the way they did to that tattoo of a gun down his right leg. Indeed it was why he did not feel that he was the target of some kind of media campaign.
‘I can see, most definitely, where they’re coming from,’ he said. ‘You can see a gun on someone’s leg, so you are going to automatically think, “What the hell are you doing?”’
It was not something he was taking personally, he then insisted, and for all the scrutiny he was under last week he claims to have emerged unscathed.
Perspective, he suggested, was the key here, hinting at the fact that when your father has been shot dead in a brutal killing in Jamaica, a fuss about an inking of an M16 does not penetrate what appears to be a particularly thick skin.
‘Me and my mum and my agent sometimes talk about little things like what happened the other day,’ he said. ‘People expect me to be really affected by it, but I just find I’ve been through harder stuff in my life so to get down about that, it’s the least of my worries.
‘I’ve got a massive opportunity here with a great bunch of players, to represent England at a World Cup. That’s my biggest focus now. That tattoo story, that goes by. It’s going to be spoken about for one day, two days, but football is the most important thing now.’
He might be just 23 but he considers himself a mentally robust person. ‘I feel strong,’ he said. ‘If something bad or something negative happens, the majority of the time I have a think, think about what’s been said, respect it and move on.
‘People say, “Do you feel picked on?” I don’t feel that at all. As I said, I can see the reasons. I’m just happy to be able to represent England, to be able to be at this amazing training facility. I’m just grateful that I can have these opportunities to then go and show my ability.’
He did admit after Saturday’s encounter with Nigeria that he would have understood if Gareth Southgate had dropped him for reporting a day late for World Cup duty. As we now know, Southgate only kept him in the side because of a need to ‘protect him’ after the tattoo controversy.
Sterling appreciates the support. ‘He’s a lovely guy, he’s getting his ideas across on the field and off the field he’s a real gentleman,’ he said.
‘He helps everyone out. He makes sure everyone knows exactly what they have to do, and he’s got a plan that we’re all following.
‘From the minute Gareth came in he said the only thing we could control was what happened in our circle and on the training ground.
‘In the past I think we’ve paid a bit too much attention to the outside and the way he’s brought the squad together as a unit and tried to limit what we do and talk about has been positive. It lets people know we’ve got each other’s backs.
‘In the past week the boys know that I haven’t been really bothered by it but I know they would be there for me if I needed them.’
Being given the No 10 shirt by Southgate has certainly lifted his spirits, and prompted him to tell a story about yet another tattoo.
‘ It’s from my days at QPR,’ he explained. ‘I know I shouldn’t mention it, but I’ve got a tattoo of a 10 on my arm. So it’s something I’ve always wanted to do: wear the No 10 for England.
‘I feel much more happy wearing that shirt, and to be doing that at a World Cup, with my country, gives me that huge joy and a feeling I can go and do well.’
His only concern, he added, was having a successful tournament, one he hopes sees England progress beyond a possible quarter-final with Brazil or Germany.
Sterling even suggested an exit at the quarter-final stage ‘won’t be good enough’.
‘Because you want to win it,’ he said. ‘Every player wants to win the World Cup. Every country wants to win the World Cup. So anything less than that is not really a bonus.’
Not even if it means an early flight home.
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