Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has publicly given his views on the recent controversy surrounding Liverpool's 20-year-old winger Raheem Sterling, who recently turned down a lucrative contract extension believed to be a £100,000-a-week contract deal, fuelling transfer rumours that he is supposedly angling for a move away from Anfield this summer.
These comments come just a few days before The Villains FA Cup semi-final clash with The Reds on Sunday afternoon, and Raheem has been pictured inhaling nitrous oxide, otherwise known as "laughing gas", whilst also seen holding a shisha pipe with young team-mate Jordon Ibe.
The winner of Sunday's intriguing tie is set to face either Arsenal or Reading in May's final, with both clubs eager to progress. When asked about the incident, Sherwood joked: "Let's hope Sterling isn't laughing on Sunday!"
"I have a wee bit of sympathy - I am not condoning it, but he is a young man, isn't he? He obviously has fortunes but is growing up like everyone else. It is tough in the public eye. A lot of academies pick players on size because the bigger kids normally push the little kids over and their teams can win the games. He wouldn't be much different from what he is now but you wouldn't want to fight him would you?"
On the importance of the fixture: "It's a very exciting game, a great opportunity for this club to get to an FA Cup final. I've lost a few semi-finals myself, not a great feeling. We're going in with a positive state of mind - this club's relegation is not at stake, it is about us maybe getting some glory for the football club. We have the mindset to win the game, impose ourselves on a very good Liverpool side, that's what we intend to do. We think we're capable, we have a good blend of players who can play and maybe go direct at time. We're prepared to mix it up, we have a plan."