John Stones is not yet ready to put his feet up after the greatest season of his life.
The Manchester City defender – and part-time midfielder – is determined to say goodbye to the 2022/23 campaign with more success, this time with England.
At 29 years old, he has just landed his fifth Premier League winners’ medal, lifted the FA Cup for the second time and topped the lot with a starring role in City’s ascension to the European throne with a first Champions League crown.
A 1-0, treble-clinching, history-making victory over Inter Milan in Turkey was followed by 48 hours of partying but now it's back to business for Stones and his City teammates – Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips, Phil Foden and Kyle Walker – who will be training with England ahead of two pivotal European Championship qualifiers.
Stones, filled with confidence after his club exploits, firmly believes the Three Lions are on the cusp of something big and that they remain slightly undervalued for their consistency under boss Gareth Southgate.
He has been an integral part of the England set up for years and is likely to add at least one more appearance to his current total of 66 caps in the coming days as he and his compatriots prepare to face Malta and North Macedonia.
Now hailed as one of the most complete footballers of his generation, Stones admits that his boyhood dream was to play for England and, though he never envisaged reaching 66 outings, he now has his sights set on the magical 100 caps.
Stones is comfortably in the top 40 all-time England appearance makers and has already eclipsed the totals chalked up by such luminaries as Kevin Keegan, Alan Shearer, Paul Gascoigne and Southgate himself.
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He is just one match behind Paul Scholes and Tony Adams, eight starts short of leaping beyond former defensive kingpin Sol Campbell and 11 from climbing above another legendary central defender Terry Butcher.
“My dream when I first started playing for England was to get to 50 caps,” he said.
"That kind of stalled at 42 and I didn’t play for England for a year or so. I wasn’t being picked here at City and at one point I thought I wouldn’t play for my country ever again. So I really do cherish every cap that I get and every time I put on that England shirt.
“I try to make everyone – and myself – proud when I play internationals. I’d now love to get to 100 caps and win some silverware for England. Those are the ambitions and targets.
“The achievement of playing so many games for England and more than some of the great names of the past doesn’t really sink in because you are still playing.
“I’ve been to major tournaments and, hopefully, I’ve got a couple more chances at a Euros and a World Cup to come. There’s a lot to go for and it's up to me to stay as healthy as possible and stay in top form for City so I get picked.”
After reaching the final of the Euros on home soil and exiting the World Cup in Qatar in the last eight, England have made a strong start to qualifying for Euro 2024, the finals of which will be held in Germany.
With six points from wins against Italy away and Ukraine at home, they will be sitting pretty if they can extend their Group C record to four straight victories with success against Malta on June 16 and North Macedonia three days later.
“We’ve got two important qualifiers to come and you can’t take anything for granted,” said Stones.
“We saw that before the World Cup when we lost a couple of matches in the Nations League that anything can happen. We are all in the head space of knowing that these kinds of games coming up cannot be taken for granted. We have to show the right level of respect. North Macedonia, for instance, knocked out Italy in the last World Cup play-offs. They have a lot of quality.
“There will be no relaxing until after these two games whether I play both or not. Only then can I put my feet up and reflect on the season as a whole.”
The man leading England into the Euros in 2024 will be the aforementioned Southgate and Stones is among the majority of England stars who was delighted to see the manager remain in place after they went out of the World Cup in Qatar at the quarter-final stage to eventual finalists France.
“I was really happy when Gareth decided to stay on,” said Stones. “There was a lot of speculation at the time about whether he would stay or not.
“Other than the World Cup-winning team of 1966, this team under Gareth has been one of the most successful England sides ever and we’re still striving to get better and win a trophy.
“Some things for England go unrecognised a little bit. For instance, Italy won the Euros and then didn’t even get into the World Cup finals. Qualifying for tournaments is a major part of international football. People take qualification for granted a little bit and there’s not enough emphasis or credit given to England’s consistency in that regard.
“International football is a totally different dynamic to club football but I believe that we can go on and win something. We are making big steps in the right direction to do that.
“With England it's a new challenge to that at City and a new perspective on what you are trying to achieve. These are two big games coming up.”
He is likely to revert to playing in his traditional role as centre-half for England, though Southgate will have seen how accomplished he has been in midfield recently for City – and even as a No 8 in Istanbul.
“People have always said from a young age that they can see me playing in midfield,” Stones said. “I still love playing as a centre-half and I’ve absolutely loved this City role as well.
“I think I have shown myself that I’m able to do it. Maybe I am showing some attributes that I didn’t know I had.
“In terms of the Champions League, it was the thing we were missing. It has been a pleasure to create history. There’s a lot to take in and we have set the bar high. It’s hard to put it into words but for now the focus is back on England and then a rest.”
Whatever the results in the coming days, Stones's main priority after the final whistle against North Macedonia at Old Trafford will be to make the short journey home from Manchester to Cheshire.
“We spend so much time away that the first thing I want to do when the games are over is be with the family,” he said.
“As the kids get older, it’s harder and harder to be away. Days off and time after school become precious. I’m a big family man and you will never get that quality time back because it flies by and kids grow so fast. Time is the most precious commodity for a top-flight footballer.”
If anyone has earned that time off it is John Stones, the treble winner.
