James Milner has poured cold water on the prospect of becoming a manager when he calls time on his playing career.
The Liverpool star has been a Premier League regular for the best part of two decades having burst onto the scene with Leeds. He's since enjoyed huge success but is now into the twilight of his time as a player. Milner, who moved to Anfield in 2015, has become an integral leader on Merseyside.
His influence off the pitch is often praised and has seen him earmarked as a future manager. Milner has been able to learn off Jurgen Klopp as well as Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini during his career, but has concerns over the longevity managers get in the modern game.
He told Amazon Prime Video: "I don’t know, I think that comment as a senior player you try to help out where you can, on the field and off the field. I’m doing my badges so I’ve done quite few session with the younger guys at the academy which is good. When you’re doing the session, I enjoy it.
"It’s easy, it’s football, you’re basically doing it everyday in training anyway. Helping each other talking and you see what’s going on. With football you see a manager come in and do well, get a contract for 5 years and then get sacked 6 weeks later. So it’s like, do you want that stress.
"for me any manager needs at least a couple of years, to put in his ideas and get the players he wants, you're changing a culture and it takes time, but football is a business and if you're going down the wrong path, it changes quickly."
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Milner has been involved with the club's youth ranks whilst also taking on responsibilities in the dressing room and that has seen Klopp's current No 2, Pep Lijnders, claim that the 36-year-old could assume his title whenever.
He said previously: “As I said before, he could have my title tomorrow, assistant manager. The club are made around these players, around these characters. They are so much more than just football players. They are examples, they are truly legends. Not legends how you perceive it, but legends in terms of ultimate team players, and that makes them winners for life in my opinion.”
Liverpool have largely been a stable place for managers to work. Since 1998 they've only had six people at the helm with Klopp, Rafa Benitez and Gerard Houllier all enjoying five plus years in the dugout. The German will have been in charge for a decade should he see out his current deal.
