Raheem Sterling may only be 29 years old, but he is a veteran within the current Chelsea squad.

Every player in the first-team group barring Marcus Bettinelli is younger than Sterling. And following Thiago Silva's departure at the end of last season, nobody else comes close to his haul of over 600 senior appearances – nor the ten major trophies he has won.

Such experience is influential and several players, from Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke at one end of the scale to Academy youngsters such as Tyrique George and Dujuan Richards, at the other, have praised Sterling for the support he has offered them.

Yet somewhat humbly, he does not see himself as a mentor figure.

‘I’m a person that just wants to see players do well and fulfil their potential,’ Sterling explains. ‘If there is something I feel I can help with..it’s not trying to tell them what to do, it's trying to be a positive influence. That’s what you need in football: positive influences.

‘Being a senior player and seeing a young player, there are two ways you can go about it. You can be negative and try to put them down or you can be positive and give them as much confidence in the group so they can perform on the pitch.

‘When I was coming through at Liverpool, Steven Gerrard literally put his arm around me when he had more than enough things on his plate. He showed me the right direction, gave me the right messaging, and led by example of how it is to be a professional.'

Sterling is very happy to play his part in bringing out the best in others, but his bank of experience has also taught him that youthfulness is no excuse for failure.

‘It doesn’t matter what age you are,’ he stresses. ‘We are football players and we all have to take responsibility. We have to set that standard for ourselves as a collective if we want to be a team competing to win titles.

‘Having a group with the maturity to do the right things, no matter the age, is what separates the best from the rest.’

To that end, Sterling believes the detail and direction central to Enzo Maresca’s coaching will benefit the squad, which he notes contains not only young players but several fresh to the unique demands of the Premier League.

Sterling didn’t meet Maresca when they briefly overlapped at Manchester City, but he knew how highly regarded he was at the club. Pep Guardiola thought so, as he brought Maresca back to the Etihad after a stint in his native Italy to form a part of his coaching staff during what would prove a Treble-winning campaign.

Under Maresca’s guidance at Chelsea, Sterling sees collective progress daily. On an individual level, meanwhile, he loves what the head coach asks of him.

‘The manager wants the midfielders to get the ball to you in the right positions so you can make the difference. As a forward, there is no better thing to hear than that. Being high and wide is a position I’ve played pretty much all my career. It’s definitely a position I enjoy.’

Returning to his London roots has proven another great perk in the past couple of years, but to make the scenario ‘a dream come true’, Sterling says, the Blues need to lift some silverware.

‘I’m pushing and working to achieve that, and to get Chelsea where they deserve to be,’ Sterling asserts.

‘There are times when you win every year and times when you don’t win trophies. This football club more than not has been winning trophies. That’s the standards of Chelsea Football Club. We as a group are really determined to get back to those winning ways, and getting that exciting feeling of challenging for stuff and winning stuff back for the fans.

‘It’s a football club I am really dedicated to now, to try and win trophies and replicate some of the successes I have had in the past.’

Sterling is just the man to help those less far along on their footballing journey do just that.