But ... in Manchester City colours on Sunday ... the midfielder looked genuine world class material.
And Milner insists his team-mates can keep on improving in the wake of their demolition job of Manchester United.
The Red Devils were put to the sword on Sunday as Roberto Mancini's men ran out emphatic 6-1 winners at Old Trafford.
The victory moved City five points clear at the top of the Premier League table and they have set all sorts of records in the process.
City have been scoring goals for fun after amassing 33 goals in their opening nine fixtures, equalling the all-time total for a top-flight season set by Everton in 1894/95.
James Milner: "We want to keep improving as a team.
"We still have some new players in this team and can get even better.
"It's all about riding the wave. The confidence is there and it's about keeping this momentum, putting in good performances and getting the results.
"It's a tough place to go, there's always a great atmosphere and their record at home in recent years speaks for itself, so it's great to get three points.
"It's a fantastic result but we have to remember that it's just one game and it's just early days in the season.
"You have to keep your feet on the ground. This is one game out of 38 to achieve what we want to achieve.
"But we'll take confidence from this game and the way we played."
Source: FOOTYMAD
