Raheem Sterling needs to use fans to his advantage, according to Paul Gascoigne

Paul Gascoigne has encouraged Raheem Sterling to use the fans to his advantage after the 20-year-old was booed in England’s goalless draw with the Republic of Ireland.

Sterling, who has been plagued by criticism since rejecting a £100,000 a week contract with Liverpool, was booed by travelling England fans and was substituted after 66 minutes, with coach Roy Hodgson conceding after the match that his striker needed to “get a thicker skin” if he was to cope at an international level.

But Gascogine said Sterling’s best course of action would be to channel those comments – and the crowd’s energy - to his own purposes.

“My advice to Sterling is to take that as a compliment,” Gascoigne said of Hodgson’s remarks.

“Because he’s talking to you and not the other players and that means he cares about you.

“The boon side of it (the booing) is enjoy it. I always say it might take 40,000 people to upset one guy but one guy can upset 40,000 by sticking the ball in the back of the net.

“The only reason they’re booing you is because they’re scared of you, the fans are scared of you, they don’t want you to play well, so you try and ignore it, join in with them, have fun with them and relax when you play football. I did, and I didn’t bother with the crowd and I always won them over anyway.

“He needs to take it as a compliment that someone cares for him. The thing to worry about is when they stop talking about you”

Like Sterling, Gascoigne was launched into the senior international sphere at a young age, making his England debut as a 20-year-old against Denmark in 1988. But former England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce said Gascoigne played in an era when the spotlight shone less brightly on young players.

“In some ways it’s like when the Paul Gascoignes of this world were catapulted into the England senior team at a very young age," Pearce said.

“There were times when maybe his form dropped a little bit and he had to be supported but the glare wasn’t as bad then, and he could probably navigate a career a little bit easier. 

“Nowadays with youngsters we catapult them far too early and then obviously, all of a sudden, with the likes of (Ross) Barkley and Sterling, and various other youngsters, they need to be given time to develop, not catapulted too soon, and certainly not written off too soon.

“But you have to build up a mental strength if you’re going to be a top international player.”

petikan dari LiverpoolTeamTalk