Stones: I feel like I’m going in the right direction

Matt Stead

John Stones insists that he is taking criticism “in his stride”, and that he feels he is progressing at Manchester City.

Stones joined City for £47.5million in the summer, but his performances have failed to live up to the price tag.

The 22-year-old was named one of our early Champions League losers after a quite terrible game in the 5-3 victory over Monaco on Tuesday.

But the Englishman insists that his critics do not faze him, as he has the support of the City hierarchy.

“It’s always going to be harsh, so you’ve just got to take it in your stride and worry about yourself,” he said.

“I think people have got behind me here and I know when I’ve had a good game or a bad game.

“I’ll always be honest with myself first to hold my hands up and say I made this mistake. I think I can improve on it and move forward. I feel like I’m going in the right direction.

“I think people can over-complicate things and think about things too much. I’m enjoying my football massively.

“I think how the gaffer [Pep Guardiola] explains things to us and how hard we work on things in training, we know what to do in games. We know our jobs, which makes it easier for us as footballers both attacking and defending.”