ENGLAND 3 SCOTLAND STONES

Cahill tips protege to reach the top... if he listens & learns

GARY CAHILL paid tribute to John Stones – but warned that he will have to listen and learn if he wants to grow into a role at the heart of England’s defence. The two centre-halves caused plenty of hearts to flutter inside Wembley as they signalled their intention to play out from the back against Scotland. The pair just managed to steer clear of trouble – particularly during a shaky first half – but came through looking the part after the 3-0 victory. While Cahill was full of praise for his young defensive partner’s coolness under pressure, he also warned there is some way to go yet for the Manchester City star.

Potential

He said: “The potential is there for him to do whatever he wants. “Off the pitch, he’s a great lad. On it, is he a boy who is going to take advice from people? Is he going to listen to everyone and soak it up? “Yes. He certainly will. And there is no reason why he can’t go on and have the career he wants to have. “With that ability has to come the attitude to listen and take on board things from people who have done more than you. “That’s how I progressed and I’m sure he will be the same.” Stones has come under fire for taking one or two chances under Pep Guardiola’s expansionist view at the Etihad – but Chelsea’s centrehalf says he has to accept the situation and brush any flak to one side.

Cahill added: “Any criticism is normal now. He’s taken the step to play for a massive club and the spotlight is going to be on you – for good and bad.

“I feel he can deal with that. He’ll learn from his mistakes. He’s going to get more things right than wrong.

“He will build his confidence – and his manager has obviously got confidence in him – and when that happens you take any criticism on t he chin and keep going.”

England fans got a glimpse of what l i fe could be like if, as expected, interim boss Gareth Southgate is handed the position on a full-time basis.

While t he tactic worked against Gordon Strachan’s side, it was not altogether convincing.

Cahill added: “Give Scotland credit, they had a game plan and were aggressive and pressed high.

“But it’s difficult to keep that up for 90 minutes. And that is why we had more joy in the second half. They were just that fraction too late.

“We know we made bad decisions at times, but it was positive to see we kept our composure and persisted with it. It worked in the end.”