Aston Villa's James Milner not worried by burn-out

May 28 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

“But it’s an honour to play for your country and it’s great to be going out there to Sweden to play with the best young players in Europe. Getting that experience is priceless.

“If you look at teams winning the World Cup and European Championships, so many of the squad have played in the Under-21s tournaments. It’s getting that experience and winning mentality that helps. If we can win with the Under-21s, it stands us in good stead in the future as England players.

“Hopefully there will be a chunk of players who have been to a major international tournament and won it and that’s massive. If you can then take that into senior tournaments, then you have better chance of winning those.”

Milner believes the disappointment of missing out on Champions League qualification will stand Villa in good stead for the future.

“We know we should have done better but it is about what you take from such poor runs and how you bounce back,” he added. “Hopefully if we are in the same position next year, with 10-12 games to go, hopefully we can see it through and go one or two places better.”