RAHEEM Sterling has once again shown why he is a fantastic talent with his hat-trick against the Czech Republic on Friday night.

He’s proving his doubters wrong – and people are still doubting him – with the goals he’s scoring, his pace; he’s got everything you need in the modern game.

He can play left, right and as a centre-forward – he’s brilliant for me and he deserves all the plaudits he’s getting.

I think he has improved so much because of a mixture of natural maturation, although he’s still under 25, and working with his Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, who knows the little details that can improve him and his game.

His finishing has certainly improved and he’s now scored 15 goals in the Premier League, three in the Champions League and since England beat Spain last year, he’s become a regular international goalscorer.

Plus the assists too; everything that City do often goes through him and while they mix it up a bit, when Sterling is fit, he’s the one that usually starts.

Guardiola loves him and any footballer coached by Pep can’t fail to improve, can they?

It’s possible the public perception of Sterling has changed because he’s been clever in how he’s presenting himself, taking ownership of what he’s doing.

People always want honesty – they want to hear what footballers have got to say and not just soundbites and you can see that gap being filled by Sterling on his social media.

He’s been passionate recently about some things lately, especially racism and I think a lot of that has changed since the Chelsea incident earlier on in the season.

People supported him on that because no-one likes to see that sort of thing, and he gained of lot of support from the fans because of that.

But back to the football, when he works with the top athletes and the top performers, it’s going to rub off on him on and off the pitch.

Sterling is still a young man and it’s been tough, like it was coming from Liverpool and before that coming from Queens Park Rangers – but he’s a top-class player.