The 34-year-old has had his critics but his manager says he’s mystified how anyone could doubt such a consistent performer
Jurgen Klopp has expressed disbelief that anyone could criticise James Milner after the 34-year-old turned back the years with an inspirational display against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Reds seemed on course for an undefeated season in the Premier League before going down to a limp 3-0 defeat to Watford last weekend. They were then eliminated from the FA Cup by Chelsea in midweek, having lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on February 18.
Milner, along with club captain Jordan Henderson has come in for some stick from the fans, but Klopp dismissed that.
“I have no clue how somebody can doubt these boys, to be honest,” said Klopp.
“But if it happens, then thank God it isn’t my problem.
“People can say what they want, I hope they don’t do it too harshly, but I’ll never get that information and will never use it. I make my own decisions.
“In no team, whether it’s a football team or in an office or whatever part of life, can you have people who are brilliant all in the same area. It just doesn’t work.
“If you have somebody who moves left or right, then you have no answers any more. You need a mix of personalities.”
Klopp insists his team is used to fighting back from disappointment though admitted there hadn’t been much recently.
“It’s very important that you keep your nerve, but I was never worried about that,” he said.
“It’s not just about keeping your nerves, it’s about fighting all the stuff that works against you at the moment.
“True, for one-and-a-half years, not a lot of these things worked against us but in the last two weeks they did. So we have to fight them.
“We can’t ignore them and think they won’t happen again. We aren’t that kind of team, or that kind of club.
“We’ve always had to work really hard for all the things we have got. I saw this on Saturday, and am more than happy.”
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