Goal is huge boost to Sterling’s confidence

I WAS so pleased for Raheem Sterling when he scored against Croatia.

As a winger, I know that it’s tough when the critics get on your back.

Raheem, below, will be his own biggest critic.

So when things are not going well by his incredible standards – he still scored 16 goals for club and country before the Euros started – he’ll be harder on himself than others are.

Towards the back end of the past domestic and European season, when he had chances to score he was snatching at them. He wasn’t his usual clinical self.

From my personal experience it’s you, the player, that is hardest on yourself when you go five or 10 games without scoring.

Your confidence in front of goal goes first.

You miss a couple of easy chances and that doesn’t help, because the next time you get a couple of opportunities you’re even less confident and you’re conscious of everyone watching. More than likely you miss again. So it’s very tough maintaining those standards.

When you have no confidence it’s probably more difficult than any other position, because your job is to create.

Your job is to take players on, to get crosses into the box, to get shots on goal – so many more responsibilities than other players and you are relying on confidence to inspire you to live up to them. If you’re not confident, you think twice about taking your man on, get closed down before you get your cross away, you take one touch too many when you are through on goal.

You think about passing to someone not as well placed when you are the one with the chance of scoring. Wingers are underrated, especially nowadays when the top ones are expected to get 20-odd goals a season and 10 or 15 assists.

You can’t just conserve your energy and attack. You have to help your team out defensively too. Sterling does that.