London: James Milner fears he may have become a victim of his own stoicism after spending more time than he would like on the fringes for both club and country.
Milner has struggled to command regular first-team football at Manchester City under manager Manuel Pellegrini and has lost a grip on his England place as a result.
Typically, Milner knuckled down and fought his way back into Pellegrini’s team, but has to admit there have been times when he wondered if his professionalism counted against him, making him easier to drop than more volatile teammates.
“There are two ways to react — a right and a wrong way,” said Milner. “You can sulk and mouth off or work harder and working harder is the only way I know.
“Maybe it counts against you if you’re not sulking or ruining training if the manager leaves you out. I’m not naming names. I’ve played with enough players for you to decide who it can be.
“Maybe that counts against me at times. The manager knows I’ll just carry on training as hard as I can. It’s no good for the team if someone sulks or disrupts training.
“The team comes first, whether it is England or Man City. It is no good for the team if you do alienate yourself from the group and start making things difficult.”
Milner has started City’s past four matches in the Barclays Premier League and his form has impressed, but lack of action in 2014 did not help his international career in World Cup year. He won his 50th England cap in Switzerland last month and yet the 28-year-old has played only 223 minutes for the national team in 2014.
The only games he started were a friendly against Ecuador, when he was used as an experimental right-back, and the final group game in Brazil against Costa Rica, when the team’s fate was sealed.
“It’s a dilemma for the England manager [Roy Hodgson],” said Milner. “It’s difficult when someone’s not playing much at club level. It’s frustrating, but on the other hand, it’s England. I don’t think I could ever turn my back on my country and look back thinking I’d stopped, just to have a few extra days off.
“It’s a massive honour to play for your country. I played 46 times for the Under-21s and never would have turned it down.”
Friends have jokingly tried to persuade him to shed the reputation that inspired the Twitter parody @BoringMilner, an account which was recently posting tweets about the virtues of skimmed and semi-skimmed milk.
“People get a tag and it sticks,” said Milner. “That’s the way it is. If I change my Yorkshire accent, it might change something but I’m stuck with that and proud of it.
“At times, I do think if I was a bit lazier, just did the attacking side of the game, would people notice me more? But I play the game which is best for the team. I track back, I defend and sometimes might not have the energy to go forward because you’re doing that work.
“If I feel I’m not getting a fair crack of the whip I do go and see the manager. Football is all about opinions. This is my fifth season at City and, with the trophies I’ve won, and to hold my own, I can’t be doing too badly.”
Milner has survived an exodus of English players from the Etihad Stadium — Joleon Lescott, Adam Johnson, Micah Richards and Jack Rodwell have all left. He is out of contract at the end of the season and in talks about a new deal.
He added: “I seem to go through phases in my City career but it’s an amazing club, why would you want to leave? At other times it’s a bit more frustrating when you’re not playing as much.”
Milner has even started learning to speak Spanish to help him bond with signings from Spain and Argentina, as well as Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini.
“A few of the lads don’t speak great English, so it helps them and helps me improve, too,” said Milner. “I don’t think you can be fluent until you live in a country but I can speak it OK.”
— Daily Mail
