James Milner says Aston Villa stars need to cope with passion from European fans

Aug 21 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

JAMES Milner insists Villa refused to be frightened by the feverish atmosphere in Vienna after missiles were hurled on to the field.

The partisan home supporters created a frenzied buzz inside the Hanappi Stadium.

But Milner accepts Villa must cope with passionate opposition followers in Europe and should be inspired rather than intimidated.

“You want to play in atmospheres like that but I’m not sure about throwing stuff at the pitch,” said Milner. “There were all sorts, even sunglasses.

“You can’t really do anything about that it’s what Europe’s all about. Many of us have played in atmospheres like that before so it’s no excuse.”

Milner admits Villa got off to the worst possible start but was encouraged by the way Martin O’Neill’s men recovered.

“It was frustrating,” he said. “We thought we kept the ball well and had chances ourselves – it was a pretty open game but just one of those nights.”