Hodgson: Sterling needs thicker skin

Hodgson: Sterling needs thicker skin

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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 from Liverpool, and his every touch met with a volley of boos at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Sunday. 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 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."

Sterling was replaced by Andros Townsend in the 66th minute after a subdued display, but Hodgson said he had "no reservations" about selecting him for this weekend's UEFA EURO 2016 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."