James Milner has blasted Aston Villa's thrashing at Liverpool

Mar 23 2009 by Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

JAMES Milner pulled no punches when he described Villa’s performance in their 5-0 thrashing at Liverpool as “unacceptable,” saying the players let both themselves and the club down.

Villa’s drubbing was their biggest to Liverpool in 59 years and their heaviest in the Premier League since a five-goal thrashing at Arsenal three years ago.

The result left Villa trailing Arsenal by three points in the race for fourth with a 14-goal inferior goal difference.

“Have we let the club and ourselves down? Of course,” said Milner. “Losing any game is disappointing – 5-0 is not good enough, especially for a club like Aston Villa and especially because of how well we have done this season and where we are in the table.

“You should not be losing by that scoreline. We were coming here feeling well prepared, even though results haven’t gone our way recently we were looking to win this game.

“To lose 5-0 is unacceptable. We must turn it around. Any defeat is hard to take but especially when it’s by five. You have always got to show your character but it should never have to get to that stage. Yesterday it did.”

Villa face a huge test of their mental strengths as much as their physical prowess after the international break with a trip to leaders Manchester United, still smarting from two straight defeats.

Milner says his team-mates should automatically be ready to show their mettle and bemoans the break.

“It should never be difficult to show your character,” he said.

“The least anyone can ever expect of you is to give 100 per cent and it wasn’t good enough (at Liverpool).