Manchester City defender John Stones happy to take on mentoring role for England

Manchester City defender John Stones has vowed to let his football do the talking after putting a series of impressive performances for club and country this season.

The former Everton defender struggled in his first season at the Etihad but has looked much more composed and assured this term, starting 10 out of 11 games in the Premier League so far, during which his side have conceded just seven goals.

The 23-year-old has fared even better in the Champions League, scoring three times in four appearances and was instrumental in helping England to keep consecutive clean sheets against Germany and Brazil earlier this week.

"I think my performances speak for themselves," he was quoted as saying by the Mirror. "I've done my talking out there, wanted to improve. You can't argue with two clean sheets against top opposition.

"It's about having a look at yourself, where you can ­improve and not shying away from where you've gone wrong. That's what pushes you to become a better player."

Liverpool's centre-back Joe Gomez and Leicester City's defender Harry Maguire, who played alongside Stones in a 3-5-2 line-up, both impressed against Brazil, when England successfully managed to keep the likes of Neymar, Gabriel Jesus and Philippe Coutinho at bay.

However, it was Stones who showed a composure and maturity beyond his age, orchestrating England's defence and guiding his two teammates through a very difficult test.

Despite being only 23, the Barnsley-born defender has already won 22 senior caps and admitted he was already seeing himself as a mentor to his younger colleagues, as Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Phil Jagielka and Joe Hart did when he was starting out.

"Football is never easy," he added. "Everyone wants to ­challenge themselves in ­certain ways. That's what we do in football. From my experiences I try to pass it on to the young lads and give them a few words.

"Like for Joe [Gomez]. It's short and simple, really. You don't want to flood his brain for when he comes out on the pitch.

"That's what I found when I was growing up, playing in big games – I didn't want to be overrun and have too much information."