Sterling insists adverse publicity has not affected him

Raheem Sterling insists scrutiny surrounding his gun tattoo has not negatively affected World Cup preparations, with the England forward instead taking heart from the love showed to him by the public.

Even for a player that has grown up in the spotlight, the past week has been intense for the Harlesden-raised 23-year-old.

Sterling’s unfinished leg tattoo of a gun brought criticism from sections of the media at the start of last week, leading the Football Association to express its full support of a player who explained it was in tribute to his father after he was gunned down in Jamaica when the forward was just two.

There was further scrutiny after Sterling took a tumble in Saturday’s friendly win against Nigeria – a match he was going to be dropped for having reported late for camp, only for manager Gareth Southgate to change his mind after the player came under attack for his tattoo.

Sterling said: “(This week) it’s not really been that tough. Things happened and get spoken about, but I put that to one side. I’ve been focused on training and playing Nigeria, so for me it was a normal week to be honest.

“The only thing that changed was that I was in the newspapers a bit more. I just got on with my day. I spoke with my mum and she was OK. My daughter and my son are OK, I’m fine.

“That was the least of my worries. It’s obviously bad to see yourself spoken of in that light, but it’s not something that gets me down.

“I’ve got a World Cup to prepare for and I’ve had training sessions every day, so my mind was already occupied. That was the least of my worries.”

Sterling has, though, been aware of the widespread public support – backing that has not always been there.

“I heard that there was a lot of positives,” Sterling, who referred to himself as ‘The Hated One’ at Euro 2016, said.

“I am grateful to see stuff like that and it just shows how far I am coming and how much the people are really taking to me as a person. Because they can probably see my true colours and my true personality, so it’s really good to see.”