Neil Critchley explains James Milner’s role in Liverpool’s victory against Shrewsbury

Liverpool under-23 manager Neil Critchley has stated that Reds midfielder James Milner played a crucial role in the club defeating Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup replay at Anfield last night.

Reds manager Jurgen Klopp and his senior players all took the night off to honour the inagrual Premier League winter break, which meant Critchley led a very young Liverpool team against Shrewsbury.

Klopp’s decision to rest his senior players proved the right one, as the kids claimed a 1-0 victory over Shrewsbury courtesy of a Ro-Shaun Williams own goal.

However, leading into the game, Liverpool’s youngsters did have a senior figure to look up to. Milner, who is still recovering from his hamstring injury, decided to help the kids out.

“He trained with us yesterday and he asked whether he could come along,” said Critchley, as quoted by the Mirror.

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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 04: Curtis Jones of Liverpool celebrates victory with his team mates after the FA Cup Fourth Round Replay match between Liverpool FC and Shrewsbury Town at Anfield on February 04, 2020 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

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“I think the answer is ‘Yes, of course you can.’ It was very respectful to ask.”

Critchley added: “He then said ‘Can I come in the dressing room?’. What do you think? ‘Of course’.

“He was giving words of advice, he was getting right behind the players. He was vocal in the dressing room. He was animated. He was vocal behind me, I could hear him.

“He was genuinely delighted at how the boys performed and I can’t thank him enough.”

This is great to see. There was much uncertainty going into the match, as there were no senior players involved.

However, for Milner to help out when he didn’t need to shows you the class of the man. Going by the performance, one could argue that Milner did have a positive influence on the young group, despite the fact he was not even playing.

Liverpool face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the next round of the FA Cup.

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Source: anfieldhq.com