Milner: Manchester City have the character to win ugly

 

The England midfielder believes that Sunday's 2-0 victory over Newcastle is proof that Manuel Pellegrini's side are as comfortable away from home as they are at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City midfielder James Milner believes that Sunday's 2-0 victory against Newcastle is proof of his side's ability to win ugly if necessary.


Manuel Pellegrini's men are undefeated at home, scoring 38 goals at the Etihad Stadium, but struggled on the road earlier in the season - losing four and drawing one of their first six away matches.

A closely fought encounter at St James's Park, however, saw their record improve to five wins and two draws from their 11 games outside of the Etihad and the England international sees it as proof that City do not need to be at their fluent best to get results.
"It feels like a massive win because these are the type of really tough tests that you want to win if you have any hopes of topping the table," Milner told the Daily Mirror.

"Everyone knows we can play good, attractive football because we have scored so many goals this season but these are the sort of games where you have to dig in and grind out a result. We managed to do that but only just.

"We never thought we had a problem away from home. We were confident in ourselves and just had to keep playing the way we were. We looked at the games we lost and we shouldn't have been beaten in those matches as we dominated them.

"You have to have faith and keep playing the same way. I think people forget we had a lot of new players coming into the team and a new manager so it was always going to take time for us all to get to know each other."

The midfielder is the subject of a parody Twitter account, 'Boring Milner', which has gained over 140,000 followers, but the 28-year-old has no problem with its depiction of him, knowing that he has the last laugh.

"Boring James Milner? It has got a few followers now, hasn't it? It's a bit of fun and I've read a few of the Tweets," he remarked.

"If people think I’m boring, well, whatever - as long as I have got a Premier League winners medal, I don't really mind being as boring as you want."