Mark Sampson said Demi Stokes is developing into a “world-class” left-back – but the England defender has refused to let that praise go to her head.
The 24-year-old has put in a number of impressive performances since missing out on the Lionesses squad for last year’s World Cup.
Stokes has started 13 of the 16 matches since Canada 2015, including each of the last five – and only Jill Scott and captain Steph Houghton started more games in England’s unbeaten Euro 2017 qualifying campaign.
Over the last 12 months the South Shields native has starred in matches against Germany and Australia and was one of the best players on the pitch last time out against Spain.
Stokes’ performances haven’t gone unnoticed by England boss Sampson, who believes she is now among the best full-backs in the world.
Stokes said: “I feel in a good place at the minute. It’s nice that Mark trusts me to do a job.
“From the disappointment of not being picked for the World Cup to playing in almost every game is a good place to be in.
“I’ll just keep grounded and keep going. It’s nice to hear compliments like that and it’s good that people are seeing that I’m improving.
“But like everything, I take it with a pinch of salt. I just want to take all of Mark’s information on board and keep developing.”
Stokes has been named at left-back for the majority of her 26 caps, the first of which came in a 1-1 draw with Norway in January 2014.
But, with Sampson starting to experiment with a back three, the Manchester City star has recently been deployed as a wing-back to great effect.
Stokes, who spent her formative years as a winger, said: “It gives the manager another option in terms of the formation he wants to use for any particular game.
“I like going forward and defending so I can draw on either of those aspects depending on who we are playing.”
Stokes helped Man City win the FA WSL 1 title
Stokes was named in the starting 11 for each of England’s last two matches, a 0-0 draw with France and a 2-1 win in Spain.
She added: “It’s important that we come up against teams that we could face in the Euros.
“We need to play the likes of Spain and France and other big teams so that’s it’s not a shock when it comes to the Euros.
“And I think our recent games against France show that we are learning more by playing the best.
“We’ve had a couple of good draws against them and the next time we come up against them I think there’s no reason why we can’t win.”
Stokes continued: “Holland away is another game to look forward to and a good one to finish the year with.
“They are the Euro hosts and the game will be in one of the Euro venues so it will help us to get used to that environment.
“Holland are another decent side and the more top teams you play the better so it’s another test we should all look forward to.”
