Liverpool veteran Milner divulges Klopp methods; talks unbelievable record

Steve Pearson
Milner.Klopp_.Liverpool.Getty_

Liverpool veteran James Milner gave his thoughts on his ongoing Premier League record you have to read to believe, and detailed the secrets behind why Jurgen Klopp’s training sessions are so good.

The ever-reliable Milner, 34, will go down as one of the greatest free agent signings in Premier League history.

Joining the Reds in 2015 at the age of 29, Milner has gone on to make more appearances for the club than any of the previous sides on his résumé.


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Characterised by his reliability and consistency, Milner is not known for his goalscoring exploits.

However, the ex-England international holds the incredible distinction of never having lost a single Premier League match when he got on the scoresheet.

That record has spanned his 55 goals in England’s top flight over the course of nearly two decades, with many of those occasions coming with clubs who weren’t near the top of the table during the first half of his career.

Speaking to Liverpool’s official website regarding the record, Milner revealed it is his father who constantly brings it up everytime he finds the back of the net.

“I never think about it!” said Milner.

“My old man is normally the one who brings it up after a game, he says, ‘Oh, your record is still intact’ if I score.

“Probably the biggest thing with that record is I haven’t scored as many goals as I should have.

“But it’s ridiculous isn’t it, really? I can’t explain why. It’s crazy really, something I can’t really explain.”

Milner has established himself as a trusted lieutenant under Klopp, and has played some of the best football of his career under the German despite his advancing age.

Speaking on the intricacies of Klopp’s training sessions, Milner added: “He’s right up there at the top, if not the best.

“His training sessions are different to anything I’ve ever done before. You never, ever do a session [on autopilot], whether it’s a passing drill or a shooting drill – everything is reacting to the next situation.

“If we do a shooting drill there’s three or four balls going on at the same time; ‘keepers are having nightmares going for one shot then straight for the next one.

“You’re clipping a ball to someone else and as you’re doing that another ball is on its way to you to shoot. The training is completely different to anything I’ve seen.

“The whole thing around it is reacting to the next situation and staying in the game.

“He’s very good at always thinking about what might affect a game. He’s very aware of what’s going on around it and always tries to nip anything in the bud that might affect the team’s performance or mentality going into the game.

“That’s one of the strengths he definitely has in terms of preparing that side. Obviously he’s a great coach in how he prepares us for every game as well, but in terms of that side he’s always very aware of what could stop you putting in your best performance and going into the game fully fresh mentally.”