City defender admits hard start to life

City defender admits hard start to life

Manchester City defender John Stones has admitted that he found it hard to settle in during the first stages of his career at the Etihad, but says he believes he has past his most difficult period at the club.

The England centre back joined City from Everton with a huge price-tag on his shoulders of £47.5m, something that many said was too large of a sum and would pile immense pressure on his shoulders.

He received a fair bit of criticism during his first season at the club, but so far this season he along with all of the team have been heavily praised.


But when asked if the last 15 months of his City career have been hard, he told the Guardian: “Yes, definitely. Football’s never easy. Me personally, and anyone in life, if it’s easy, you want a challenge. Everyone wants to challenge themselves in certain ways.

“I now try to pass it [personal experiences] on to the young lads and give them a few words. Like with [England teammate] Joe [Gomez]. It’s short and simple.

“You don’t want to flood his brain. That’s what I found when I was growing up, playing in big games. I didn’t want to have too much information.”

Stones looks as if he is going to be pivotal for England over the next decade, and his presence in the World Cup squad next year is almost a shoe-in.

Speaking about his performances for England, he said: “I think my performances speak for themselves.

“I’ve done my talking out there. You can’t argue with two clean sheets against two top oppositions.

“It’s about having a look at yourself and where you can improve and not shying away from where you’ve gone wrong. And that’s what drives you to be a better player.”