James Milner wont accept bit-part role James Milner has said he is keen to stay at Manchester City -- but only if he is granted enough playing time with the Premier League champions. Milner, 28, has entered the last season of his contract at the Etihad Stadium and stated his future depends upon how much he plays this year. The England international midfielder appeared in 31 league games last season, but only started 12 of them as manager Manuel Pellegrini preferred to pick David Silva, Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas on the flanks and proved unwilling to select him in the centre of midfield. City have been reluctant to sell Milner -- who has been linked with Arsenal -- this summer, and risk losing him on a free transfer next year if he does not agree a new deal. But he said he hopes to remain at the club, telling reporters while on Citys preseason tour in the U.S.: Basically, I want to be here -- as long as Im playing. I love it here and hopefully I can be here for a long time to come. But thats determined on how much football I get. I just want to feel like Im contributing. I played a fair amount last year -- maybe not as many [games] in the league as I would have liked -- but I felt like I contributed to the trophies I won. Thats what its about. Milner joined City for 26 million pounds from Aston Villa in 2010 and has won the Premier League twice plus the FA Cup and the Capital One Cup. And he added: If you win trophies and you havent played as much as you wanted, it can be frustrating. But that wasnt the case last year and hopefully it wont be this either. I played in important games at the end of last season, it was pleasing to help them win trophies. Thats what its all about, I want as many minutes as I can. Competition is tough, but when you get out there, you have to go and help the team. Ive been here four years now. Theres big-money signings every year. You want to play against the top teams, play with the best players in the world. We definitely have that at City. You test yourself every single day in training.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 06:22:18 +0000
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