Hodgson tells Sterling to develop ‘thicker skin’

DUBLIN: England manager Roy Hodgson warned Raheem Sterling he will need to develop “thicker skin” after the under-fire forward was roundly jeered during a goalless friendly against the Republic of Ireland.

Sterling, 20, has become the target of opprobrium since revealing he rejected a contract offer worth £100,000 ($152,695) a week from Liverpool, and his every touch met with a volley of boos at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

With each week yielding a link to a different club, Hodgson warned that life could get harder for Sterling before it gets better.

“I think he’s going through a bad time publicly,” Hodgson said.

“You can’t expect people just to shrug off the criticism he has been receiving, not least from the local press in Liverpool.

“That becomes national pretty quickly,” he said.

“He does ever so well and tries well to shrug it off, let his football do the talking.”

“He needed this game to realise that if he is going to get it out of his system, he’s going to have to work harder still and get a thicker skin than he has at the moment, ” Hodgson added.

Players not robots

Sterling was replaced by Andros Townsend in the 66th minute af- ter a subdued display, but Hodgson said he had “no reservations” about selecting him for this weekend’s 2016 European Championship qualifier in Slovenia.

“I trust Sterling. But players are not robots,” Hodgson told reporters. “He’s done some fantastic things for us, but today (Sunday) he didn’t hit those heights. It’ll take a lot before I and the English national team sway from Raheem Sterling.”

While Hodgson admitted his side “never got close” to their best level during an insipid game that saw Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy make his England

‘Very decent response’

Rioting far-right hooligans had caused the last meeting between the teams in Dublin in February 1995 to be abandoned after only 27 minutes, but with the Football Association having urged the 3,000 travelling supporters to behave prior to Sunday’s reunion, there was a distinct lack of edge to the atmosphere.

“Two obvious positives were the spirit in which the game was played — competitive, both teams trying to win — and the atmosphere in the stadium,” said Hodgson, who was present at Lansdowne Road in 1995.

“The behaviour of the fans was a remarkable positive.”