James Milner: Champions Wall inspired me every single day
Forcing a change to the Champions Wall at Melwood was a daily inspiration for James Milner as he set about helping the current Liverpool team clinch a first trophy.
Second-placed finishes in the League Cup, Europa League, Champions League and Premier League after his arrival in 2015 were clear evidence of the upward trajectory under Jürgen Klopp.
But reminders of what the club had achieved in previous eras meant Milner, who has now played more than 200 games for Liverpool, was never going to stop in the quest for silverware.
“I was desperate to get a trophy for this club,” the midfielder told Sky Sports. “You walk into Melwood every day and you see the trophies the club has won every single day.
“Obviously getting to the Champions League [final] the year before, going close in the Premier League, the Europa League final and the League Cup final… having those near misses obviously made it even more special when we got there.
“It’s a massive thing playing for a club the size of Liverpool; you see the history and every day you see the players who have played, the players who have pulled on the No.7 shirt before me.
“When you’re playing at Anfield and you get a taste of that atmosphere and you’re getting to finals and not quite getting over the line, to finally get over the line and contribute No.6 – which we know how massive that is for the club and how important it is, the relationship it has with the European Cup – it’s always important to win that first one.
“We managed to get the Super Cup and the World Championship this year and it would be nice to add more. But it was big to get over the line and win that first one together as a team. That then gives you all the tools to go on and push on.
“Hopefully we can add more to that. We don’t want to be known as the team that just won that one trophy, we want to push on and see if we can win as many as we can.”