Milner: We've hit form at right time ahead of crucial period

The Reds have won three games on the bounce to move up to sixth in the Barclays Premier League table and secure a place in the knockout phase of the Europa League.

Jürgen Klopp’s side now face a month of seven fixtures before the conclusion of 2015, starting with Wednesday’s Capital One Cup quarter-final at Southampton.

“This is always a crucial period,” Milner said. “The league table always looks so much different at the beginning to mid-January than what he does at the start of December.

“You see suspensions and injuries taking hold and teams losing and gaining form. It is a great time to be in good form going into this Christmas period and hopefully we can keep it going.

“It is a talented squad of players, we have a great mix of youth and experience and obviously a new manager. The stadium is being upgraded as well so I think it is a great time to be involved at the club.

“It is exciting times for everyone. If we keep working hard, keep improving, keep doing our job then hopefully we can be successful.

“We just want to keep getting the wins on the board and hopefully get into January and February and still be in all the cup competitions and give ourselves a shot in one of the cups, see where we are in the league and assess it from there.”

Liverpool’s last outing yielded a hard-fought 1-0 win over Swansea City at Anfield on Sunday, with Milner’s second-half penalty claiming the points.

The vice-captain accepts the Reds weren’t as free-flowing as they had been in the 4-1 demolition of Manchester City a week earlier, but was pleased they were able to demonstrate a different side to their game.

“It was important to get the win,” said Milner. “If you don’t get the win then it sort of throws that good performance [at City] away. With the conditions, I don’t think it was ever going to be the prettiest game of football, but these are the sort of games you have to win and it is very pleasing that we showed we can do that.

 “You are not going to play well every week and you are going to come up against difficult conditions. Every game is different and you have to be able to win in different styles. It is not always going to be pretty football and how you want it to go to plan. To be able to grind out that win was really important.

“With the amount of games we have got coming up and getting into Christmas it is an important time to get some form. Hopefully we can keep this form going through Christmas and keep racking the wins up.”

Sunday’s win against the Swans was also significant for another reason – it witnessed the returns of Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge from injury as second-half substitutes.

Perfect timing, believes Milner.

He stated: “It is massive. They are two top quality players and any team in the league would miss them. It is great they are back.

“To challenge and get where we want to be you are going to need a squad of players.

“You look at the quality of the whole bench, look at the players we have injured, you are going to need that with the amount of games we have coming up. To challenge and get where we want to be you are going to need a squad.”

Next up for Milner and his teammates is the trip to St Mary’s as Liverpool aim to book a place in the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup – a tournament the Reds are determined to go all the way in, he insists.

“It is a great chance of a trophy,” said the 29-year-old. “The League Cup gets some bad press at times for whatever reason, but if you ask anyone they would take a League Cup this season.

“We are one game away from semi-finals and then a shot at Wembley. It comes around quickly but it is a great competition. I have been lucky enough to win it and hopefully I can win it again.

“It is the first competition you can win this season. No-one will be complaining if we are sat there in February or March with a trophy in the cabinet with plenty more games to go. Everyone would be delighted with that.”