James Milner opens up on life after playing as Leeds United return with Brighton pencilled in
The boyhood Leeds United fan will be back at Elland Road before the season is over.
Leeds United academy graduate and Premier League record-breaker James Milner is considering a move into coaching once his boots are finally hung up.
Milner officially became the Premier League’s all-time record appearance-maker on Saturday when he started in Brighton’s 2-0 win at Brentford. The 40-year-old pulled ahead of former club and country teammate Gareth Barry in what was his 654th English top-flight clash.
Those 654 appearances have come across an incredible 24-year career that started in West Yorkshire, with a 16-year-old Milner making his Premier League debut for Leeds in November 2002. A winger at the time, he played 48 top-flight games for his boyhood club before stints at Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool and now Brighton.
While age doesn’t seem to be catching up with Milner any time soon, he will naturally have one eye on life after playing. And speaking after breaking the Premier League appearance record, the Thorp Arch academy prospect hinted towards a potential move into the dugout.
"I've done my badges and things like that," Milner told talkSPORT. "Some days I think it's a really good idea, other days you see people getting a new contract and managers getting sacked six weeks later. That doesn't look too appealing.
"You see the stress those guys have and the amount of media they have to do and the responsibility they take on, it is a very difficult job which, again, it does appeal to me because it is so difficult. It is something you think, 'I could do that, I'll show you.'
"Jurgen Klopp always said to me that whenever you finish, it's important you have a rest when you've been 100 miles an hour for as long as I have. So I think whenever that happens, that will be the first port of call and we'll see where we go from there."
Milner will first be looking to extend his appearance lead over Barry with 11 Premier League games left this season. One of those games could prove quite special indeed, with the 40-year-old’s Brighton side due at Elland Road for Leeds’ final home fixture of the season in May.
Both Leeds and Brighton will be hoping their Premier League futures are secure by that point, with neither safe from relegation just yet. Daniel Farke’s side are currently three places and six points ahead of 18th-placed West Ham.