Source: Daily_Mail
Milner: I've had a dozen bosses - I just hope I don't jinx Martin O'Neill at Villa!
As well as securing a place on England’s flight to South Africa for the World Cup, James Milner would like to end the season under the same manager he started it
with.
‘It would be a first,’ said Aston Villa’s versatile 23-year-old winger with a wry smile
yesterday. ‘I hope I’m not putting the mockers on Martin O’Neill but it would be nice.
Playing with a smile on his face: Milner's game has been helped by stability at Villa
Playing with a smile on his face: Milner's game has been helped by stability at Villa
‘I’m enjoying my football and one of the big things is the fact that I have stability at club
level. I think I’ve already had 12 or 13 managers in my career and while I am not making excuses, it hasn’t helped.
‘It probably does make you stronger because I guess it is important you learn from these experiences. But there always seemed to be something going on at Leeds and then at Newcastle.
‘I was well looked after by the senior players at Leeds and I needed that, especially when we were relegated. That was probably my lowest point. But again, you have to learn from the experience.
‘As a player you are just trying to concentrate on the football side. That is all you can change. Try and play as well as you can.
VIDEO: Milner on his England rise...
‘As a young player coming through you do need stability though, and now I am lucky
enough to be at a club with some good, young English talent, great experienced players and a great manager with a great track record. I feel very happy there. If you are happy where you are, you will play your best football.’
Milner is playing well. He is established in an exciting Villa side and against Holland
last month he made an impressive senior England debut, albeit as a second-half substitute.
It had been a long time coming — almost seven years after Milner superseded Wayne
Rooney as the youngest goalscorer in Barclays Premier League history.
He accumulated a record 46 Under 21 caps before Fabio Capello finally unleashed him on England’s left wing, then watched the straight-talking Yorkshireman deliver the cross that enabled Jermain Defoe to equalise against the Dutch.
Jermain Defoe scores for England
Provider: Milenr (right) watches Defoe (No 19) convert his cross in the Amsterdam ArenA
Energised by the experience, Milner seems ready to take the next step in his career, the step that might just lift him to the heights of established England international.
‘Wayne Rooney and I came through at the same time and because he progressed very quickly, he took a lot of limelight off me,’ said Milner.
‘It probably helped me massively. If that had not happened, I probably would have had more attention than I got after scoring that first goal. I guess I am grateful to him. When you look at how well he dealt with it, it just shows what a strong character he is and what a fantastic player.’
England's James Milner
Centre of attention: Milner
Now, however, Milner wants the limelight. ‘As long as it is not for things off the pitch,’ he said. ‘But if you are getting the limelight for performances on the pitch, that has to be a good thing.’
Such is his versatility, he could do well for England in a variety of positions. Against
Holland he excelled on the left flank but is just as effective on the right or even at right back — the role he occupied on the opening day of the new season against Wigan.
Milner Factfile.jpg
He is unlikely to find himself there in Saturday’s friendly against Slovenia or in the World Cup qualifier that follows four days later against Croatia, but by next summer he might well be seen as an alternative to Glen Johnson.
‘My strengths are attacking,’ he said. ‘My best positions are wide either side, or even in the centre going forward, but if the manager says he wants me to play at full back , I will. Wherever the manager wants me to play, I will.
‘I suppose it is a compliment if people think you can play in other positions. It shows the manager thinks I can adapt and that I have a brain.’
The fact he is as comfortable with his left foot as he is with his right makes him valuable when Capello can name only 23 players for the World Cup.
‘After we signed Jermaine Pennant on loan at Leeds I played the whole season on the
left,’ he said. ‘I feel equally as happy on the left and the right.
‘To get on for England was great but hopefully that is just the start. I have not reached
my goal. I have got one cap. That is great. But the next thing I have to do is prove I should be in this squad every time.’
While Capello is the manager, anyway.
