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Raheem Sterling says nothing fazes him and it’s probably just as well.

To put the seismic changes in his life into context, you merely have to look back a year to the day. Then, he was granted a taste of the ‘big time’ as a late substitute at Swansea.

The teenager now hailed as England’s saviour could not get near starting in the Liverpool side.

So how did Sterling transform himself from another kid who had too much, too young, after winning his first cap at just 17? He takes up the story himself.

“I try to block everything out. I still see my friends on days off, but I have tried to just live, sleep and eat football as the manager has told me to do.

“Going into training each day, coming home and going back to training. That’s been it over the last 12 months. I have made sacrifices and that has been a huge step forward. That’s one of the main reasons my form improved.”

After emerging soon after Brendan Rodgers arrived at Anfield, Sterling made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

You cannot be a normal teenager with the world’s eyes on you and Rodgers made that clear. Sterling now concedes it was an important lesson. “I was 18, yeah, and a young kid, but I didn’t find it hard. I’m not saying I’m just like any other 18 year old,” he added at a The Sims 4 photoshoot.

“I just thought I can’t be doing stuff like any other 18 or 19 year old. I knew I had to make changes to ensure I could be the best. That’s not to say it’s hard – it’s just for my benefit.

MORE: Jim Boardman on Sterling's meteoric rise to the top

“I’m in the public eye and realised I had to change certain stuff maybe I would do if I wasn’t playing football. That helps me, not just off the field, but on it as well and maybe you can see that now.”

The whole country can. After re-establishing himself as a first teamer last December, Sterling has had a remarkable rise. At the end of last season, no one played better for Liverpool,

That continued with England, where he was perhaps the only player to emerge from the World Cup debacle with any credit.

“It has been a massive 12 months, last year I wasn’t in the team and it was difficult for me, but it was also a great learning curve. It made me sit down and reflect on what I needed to do to get where I wanted to be.

“I did some video analysis with my agent and looked at my best games and then what I was doing when I was out of the team.

“When I got the ball in the reserves within two touches I’d turn and look to attack my opponent, whereas in the first team I was going for the safer option. I needed to get defenders on the back foot again.

“Maybe 12 months ago if I made a mistake I would hide and maybe only look to get the ball back 10 minutes later, now I try and get it back straightaway and make up for the mistake.”

For England in Switzerland, Sterling struggled at times, yet was still brave enough to play the first-time ball that created Danny Welbeck’s opening goal.

“If you are not having the best of games, I know now I can’t shy away from responsibility. Switzerland is a good example. It wasn’t my best display, but I still contributed.”

Sterling would like to make the No.10 role with England his own. Yet in keeping with his modesty, he makes no demands.

“I am not saying I don’t think I’m good, but I’m not the type of player to have an ego or big myself up. I prefer the No.10 position, but I’m still young, still growing, still developing so I’m not quite the complete player.”

Perhaps not yet, but it may not be long.

Raheem Sterling's a "Playful Creative" according to The Sims 4 personality test. What's your Sims 4 personality? Take the test and buy your copy of the game NOW at TheSims.com