adminLONDON. — England forward Raheem Sterling yesterday defended his decision not to start his side’s Euro 2016 qualifying win over Estonia on Sunday, saying: “Excuse me for being human.” Sterling (19) came on as a second-half substitute in England’s 1-0 victory in Tallinn, after which manager Roy Hodgson explained that the Liverpool winger had complained of fatigue on the eve of the match.
The matter was discussed on the sports pages of several British newspapers yesterday, while Sterling also received critical messages on Twitter.
He responded by tweeting: “Now listening too. Excuse me for being human?? omw (on my way) home.”
Jamaica-born Sterling, one of England’s most important attacking players, also retweeted two of the messages he had received from fellow Twitter users.
One read: “Oi @sterling31 sod off and choose to play for Jamaica if you’re going to continue all this tired nonsense.”
Another said: “@sterling31 Prone to Tiredness? I use to play 3 Rugby matches a week when I was 19! #tiredness #yourhavingalaugh #stillyoung.”
Explaining his decision to pick Adam Lallana ahead of Sterling, Hodgson told BBC Radio 5 Live: “He (Sterling) said, ‘I’m feeling tired, I’d rather sit this one out.'”
Sterling has started in nine of Liverpool’s 10 games to date in all competition this season and made 38 appearances last season.
Hodgson insists Sterling’s complaints about tiredness left him with no choice, but to rest the Liverpool midfielder for England’s spluttering 1-0 win over Estonia.
Sterling (19) was dropped to the bench for Sunday’s Euro 2016 qualifier after telling England manager Hodgson he felt below his best both mentally and physically during training 24 hours before kick-off in Tallinn.
But Hodgson’s decision to go along with Sterling’s wishes — selecting Liverpool’s Adam Lallana instead – proved a significant problem as England laboured to break down Estonia, a lowly 81st in Fifa’s world rankings, for long periods of a scrappy encounter, even after the hosts had captain Ragnar Klavan dismissed in the 48th minute.
Eventually, Hodgson sent on Sterling for the final 27 minutes and he responded by winning the free-kick that produced Wayne Rooney’s 73rd minute winner.
Yet Hodgson, who had already angered Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers when Daniel Sturridge suffered an injury on international duty earlier this season, was adamant it was the right move to rest Sterling because he doesn’t want the youngster to suffer from burnout.
“We were just about to have a light session at the Grove and he (Sterling) said, ‘I feel tired and I don’t think I am in my best form at the moment,” Hodgson said.
“I admire his honesty for telling me. It was two days after the San Marino game when we did a lot of running then because we had a lot of the ball.
“I had two players — one was telling me he is tired, a little bit jaded. and the other is full of beans so we put the one on that is full of beans and left the other as sub.”
After Sterling’s breakthrough campaign last season went into overtime at the World Cup, Rodgers recently admitted he was concerned about putting too much burden on the teenager, who he rested for Liverpool’s defeat against Aston Villa last month.
When asked whether he, rather than Rodgers, should always be the one who rests Sterling to help him recover, Hodgson said: “We do have to take players’ workload into consideration, and there are going to be times in top teams where players suffer from some sort of physical and mental fatigue. — AFP.
Online Reporter