Milner on Porto focus, assists record and youngsters

As well as lavishing praise upon teammate Mohamed Salah, the No.7 discussed the need for a focused performance on Tuesday, his status as the tournament's leading assist-maker and the contributions of the club's young players to the season so far.

Read on for a transcript of Milner's answers...

On dealing with the intensity of the season...

I feel good. I think we're in a good place as a squad. We've got injured [players] back, it's great to see Clyney coming back into the squad as well. As a group, we're feeling good. The training is always at a high tempo and I think you can see from the way we're playing and the form we're in that everyone's on the front foot and feeling fresh. I've played at this level a long time now so the amount of games I'm used to, the body gets used to it. The numbers I'm putting in in games are up there with everyone else if not higher at times so I'm feeling good and in a good place for this critical time of the season. Ultimately, this is the time of the season where it matters most.

On the weekend clash with Manchester United...

There's only one [game] in our minds - the only thing that matters is the next game in front of you. We had a good result out there but they had the chances before we got our goals. They're a good team. Things went right for us on the night and it was a fantastic performance but we went out there and scored five and there's no reason they can't do that. You look at the last few results, they've won their last four games, they've scored a lot of goals as well. We have to go out there and be ready for them. If I was in their dressing room, I'd want to go out there and prove a point. It's a very important game for us every time we put that Liverpool shirt on, there's an expectation, a pressure, to win the game and we expect to do that every time we go out there. Also, for the rest of the season, we want to keep this run going and put in a good performance.

On whether the first leg result was a fair reflection...

No. I think things went very well for us in the first leg. Porto had their chances early on, Dejan made a fantastic tackle. But I think on the night we were very ruthless. We created chances - like we always will with the players we have - and we were clinical, finished the chances well, and picked the right pass at the right time. I think 5-0 [isn't fair], looking at the team Porto are, the experience they have in the Champions League over the years. We have to be on our game tomorrow night and make sure that we put in a good performance.

On leading the Champions League assist stats...

There's been a bit of banter about it - there always is around the dressing room! Obviously we were in Spain after that game and it was a good time to do that trip, we worked hard on the training field but after a good performance in the Champions League and a good result everyone was in a great mood. It was nice to see a bit of sun as well and there was plenty of banter flying about. It's nice to have, it helps me shut down any arguments if there's any banter going round in the dressing room! I just want to contribute to the team and throughout my career I think I've managed to create goals for the teams I've played at. That's a strength of mine even though I'm seen as a bit of a workhorse. Throughout the years, if you look at the stats I've created quite a few goals in my career and that's where I feel one of my strengths is as a player. Hopefully I can keep doing that for the team.

On whether he feels the squad is capable of winning the Champions League...

I think we're getting closer, we're improving all the time since I've been here and moving forward. We're an exciting team to watch, I think we're learning to manage games better than we have done in the past and that maturity's coming through. At this stage of the tournament you've got to have the belief that you can go on and win it but you need to take it a game at a time. We've proved over the last few years that we can beat anyone on our day but it's about being consistent and learning from the mistakes you make. But we're not looking too far ahead, the only thing we're concentrating on is putting in a good performance and getting a win tomorrow night. 

On the development of the club's younger players...

[The] squad is very young. I'm 32, I think I'm up there as the oldest, there aren't too many older guys around. [I'm] definitely not over the hill at 32, some would say I'm in my prime! It is a young squad but Trent has been unbelievable [and] Woody. To have them around the squad not just as players but young men as well with their attitude and the way they conduct themselves is first class. [They're] always wanting to learn, I can't say enough good things about the pair of them. Joe Gomez as well, he's not exactly old either. It's a young squad learning all the time but the characters we have in the dressing room, it's a close-knit group. All the players want to learn and always want to do their best for the team and they're willing to go that extra mile and you need that to be successful. I think you can see that in how we play - if one person's not doing their job it doesn't work. If teams get out of the press then that's when you have to have people willing to go that extra yard and I think we have that in the dressing room. 

On improving game management...

I think especially over the last couple of months we've improved at that. It's something we have to keep working at. We want to win games and score plenty of goals and be exciting but there are times when you might have to hold an extra midfielder back, play behind the ball and sense what's happening in the game. The West Ham game, we were in control and they went and scored. We were disappointed in how we conceded the goal but I think our response from then, settling the game down and getting a bit more control, I think that was a sign of maturity again. It's something we still need to work at but as a group we're very aware of it and we're improving at it all the time.