Saturday 19 March 2016 10:11, UK
Raheem Sterling is refusing to rule out Manchester City's chances of winning the Premier League title, despite sitting 12 points off leaders Leicester City.
In his first exclusive interview since his high-profile move from Liverpool to the Etihad in the summer, the 21-year-old insists that the talent City have at their disposal should have them better placed.
Sterling's side host rivals Manchester United on Super Sunday, a day after leaders Leicester go to Selhurst Park to face struggling Crystal Palace, but the forward says they are desperate to pile the pressure on Claudio Ranieri's side with less than a quarter of the season remaining.
Sterling told Sky Sports' Geoff Shreeves: "Hopefully we can take the confidence from qualifying in the Champions League into our league form and try to gain some points back on Leicester and put pressure on them.
"The majority of people might not think we're title favourites at this moment in time, but I think with the players that we've got at this football club, that's the least we should be aiming for and trying to get.
"It's probably a difficult one, but we will try to pile pressure on them. The games against the big teams are the decisive ones and those are the games we've slipped up in or fell back and lost points in. Those are crucial games and title fixtures."
Since his controversial move from Liverpool in the summer for £44m, Sterling has been in and out of form under Manuel Pellegrini, but is fully aware when he has gone 'sloppy'.
City have been fighting on all fronts this season, winning the Capital One Cup and reaching the Champions League last eight following their 3-1 aggregate win over Dynamo Kiev.
And Sterling, who has already made 41 appearances this season to add to his 52 from last term, puts some of his inconsistent form down to struggles with recovery time.
"My year has been a bit stop-start," he said. "I started off really well at the start of the campaign. We went on an unbeaten run and we were top of the Premier League - and then I got a bit sloppy.
"I'm not trying to make up excuses or anything, but it was probably the number of games that were turning around. It made it very difficult for me. I'm still growing physically so that was a bit hard.
"As some of the physios and people at the club tell me, with the way my body's built I probably need a couple of extra days than your normal player because of my muscle fibres.
"It sounds like science to me, but I do definitely feel it at times. That's no excuse and I'm trying to recover quicker."
The England international has already scored as many goals this term as he did during his last year at Liverpool, but insists he wants to become more clinical in front of goal to improve as a player.
His aspirations are high, and his confidence even higher, but Sterling is acutely aware that putting pressure on himself could have a negative impact.
"My target over the coming years - or coming months, not years - is one-shot, one-goal; being as clinical as possible. If I get a chance in the box, it's a goal.
"In the competitions we are playing in like the Champions League I might just get one chance and if you are playing against Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich you probably will get one chance and you've got to be clinical. You might not know if your team will get another one.
"Those are the targets I'm looking to set for myself because the players that are the best in the world, that's what they do.
"They get a chance and they finish it and they win football matches. That's the player that I want to be - a player that decides football matches.
"I know within myself where I want to be in the next few years. I don't want to put any pressure on myself and name any names but I definitely want to be up there with the best players in the world.
"The likes of Neymar is a world-class player and I've got some work to do to get to those sort of levels. Those are the targets I'm aiming for and I'm not going to hide it.
"I want to be one of the best players in the world and in my country."
See the extended Geoff Shreeves interview with Sterling and Anthony Martial on Super Sunday ahead of Manchester City v Manchester United on Sky Sports 1HD from 3.30pm.
