Roy Hodgson is not concerned about Raheem Sterling’s state of mind ahead of England’s European Qualifier against Slovenia and says he is only interested in the Liverpool winger’s footballing ability.
Sterling was singled out by sections of the crowd during last weekend’s lacklustre goalless draw with Ireland in Dublin as uncertainty surrounding his club future continues to rumble on.
But Hodgson revealed he is not unduly concerned by the heckling Sterling was forced to endure at the Aviva Stadium, insisting it will not be a factor in his team selection for Sunday’s game in Ljubijana.
“I think it’s fairly common practice that good players get booed by opposing fans so I don’t find that tremendously unusual,” Hodgson told reporters at the Stozice Stadium on the eve of the Group E clash.
“I would be more concerned if it was England fans booing him, but even if that were to be the case I’m sure it would be for other reasons than his footballing ability.
“What interests me is his footballing ability and not his contract disputes.”
England have five wins from five qualifying matches ahead of the return fixture with Slovenia, who they beat 3-1 at Wembley last November.
The match falls exactly 12 months after England’s World Cup opener against Italy last summer and Hodgson is optimistic his side have a bright future ahead of them.
“I don’t think self-assessments are the best assessments as we may be seeing this through rose-coloured spectacles,” he said.
“There have been a lot of changes. A lot of young players have come into the squad and a lot of young players have come into the team.
“It’s a very different team to the team we had a year ago. I believe it’s an exciting team, I believe it is a team with a large margin of progression and I believe it is a team that will grow and will get better.”
With just under a year to go until the European Championships in France, Hodgson is determined to help his young squad adapt to the demands of modern-day international football.
He added: “When you have got a team as young as we have got - who play for us but don’t play for their club sides - when you still have players who are making their way as Premier League players, let alone international players, everything is there to be improved.
“We need the experience, the work, the games - we need all the challenges that will come our way during the next year and our aim as coaches will be to try and help the players deal with those challenges.
“We want to improve on all fronts not least of all to deal with the stress of major tournaments and the expectations and pressures that come with it.
“That alone is something we’d like to improve upon but then I think all the coaches before me would have been saying the same thing.”
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