“I didn’t need to speak to him because I already spoke to him in the summer and we had a positive talk,” Sterling said, reports the Telegraph.
“I didn’t have any negative thoughts. I just woke up one day with England, didn’t believe a word of it, until I spoke to the manager. I didn’t need to worry about it.
“I’m here for the long term, I signed for five years. I have three and a half years left and I want to continue playing here for a long time to come.
“It is massive year for me, for the team and I need to keep building, keep working hard and go to the World Cup on a positive.”