Skip to main content
Daily Star

‘Premier League manager raged ‘how dare you f***ing question me’ at top pro James Milner’

James Milner comes across like one of the most likeable personalities in the Premier League, but one manager lost his rag with the veteran professional after he appeared to question his methods

James Milner of Aston Villa celebrates his goal with Stephen Warnock during the Carling Cup Semi-Final, second leg match between Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers
James Milner got it in the neck for daring to question Martin O'Neill's methods(Image: Getty Images)

Manager philosophies often differ when it comes to delegating responsibilities among the squad – and James Milner found out the hard way how to rub one of his old bosses the wrong way.

The three-time Premier League champion was in the final embers of his career at Aston Villa when he took umbrage with how Martin O'Neill was running the show. Specifically, it was his belief the squad wasn't doing enough to keep fitness levels in line with their competition.


He wasn't alone, either, as Stephen Warnock recounted how he arrived at Villa Park in 2009 and was astounded the club were doing so well at the time. However, it was Milner who received both barrels from the manager for daring to voice his concerns over how much - or rather, little - attention was being paid to conditioning.


READ MORE: 'I’m an ex-Liverpool star – one pre-season booze-up ended with the squad in prison cell'

READ MORE: Jose Mourinho eyeing up second Man Utd stint as pressure mounts on Erik ten Hag

"Gabby [Agbonlahor] went to Vegas twice and New York [once] in that year - in the season," said Warnock during a recent appearance on Undr the Cosh. "Because we had that much time off."

Article continues below

When pressed on whether that resulted in the team failing to match up to their foes in terms of fitness, the former full-back replied: "Yeah! We blew up in April. There was a team meeting around March time, and it was led by James Milner, who basically said, 'We're not fit enough. We need to do more.'

Which manager do you think is the worst taskmaster of all time? Let us know in the comments section below.

Stephen Warnock on Undr The Cosh
Stephen Warnock recounted the tale on Undr the Cosh(Image: UndrTheCosh/YouTube)

READ MORE: ‘I’m ex-Premier League manager – I’m more likely to start pub band than return to dugout’READ MORE: David Moyes to leave West Ham – with ex-Real Madrid boss close to replacing him

"And O'Neill took the knock massively. It was like, 'How dare you f***ing question me?' He was fuming. Milly [Milner] was super fit. He'd do the running machine after training, would do his runs on his own and things, but he knew as a whole, as a team, we weren't fit enough. And we weren't."

Warnock went on to explain how the 2009/10 campaign concluded with Villa gassing out around April, saying he and his team-mates were "f****d, because we hadn't trained properly." He noted the culture shock of coming from an "ultra professional" setup at former employers Blackburn to the fitness coach not even taking warm-ups at Villa because he "didn't wanna do it."

Aston Villa's English midfielder James Milner in action during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and West Ham United
Milner - who is still going strong at 38 - has long been celebrated for his fitness levels(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Article continues below

It ended up being the beginning of the end for both Milner and O'Neill at Villa Park. Milner - who went on to play for Liverpool and now Brighton - was the subject of a £26million move to Manchester City and became one of their most valuable servants, while O'Neill's four-year spell in Birmingham ended with him resigning on a sour note.

As for Warnock, he remained with Villa for another three years before moving onto Leeds in 2013. And one can bet he struggled to come across another manager quite as prickly as O'Neill when it came to matters of fitness.

Follow Daily Star:


Premier LeagueAston Villa FCManchester City FCLiverpool FCBrighton Hove Albion FCNewcastle United FC
reach logo

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.