Milner spent four years with the Toon and says: “I enjoyed Newcastle massively, it’s a great place to play football - the fans are very passionate, and it’s a fantastic stadium.”
He stepped into a dressing-room full of established Premier League stars to continue his football education after leaving his hometown club Leeds.
He said: “Bellers (Shay (Given) was there, it was a good team at Newcastle and a good opportunity for me.
“It’s important that you try to move forward and improve every day. I’ve been fortunate to have played with some top players, watching them and seeing how they go about their business.”
The work ethic that has endeared Milner to City fans was also evident at St James’ Park
Glenn Roeder described him as “the hardest-working player at the club”. Sam Allardyce went one step further and cautioned Milner against over-training which might lead to “burn out”.
Milner was also a big hit with former City manager Kevin Keegan: “I used to stay out after training and we’d have shooting practice.
“To learn from someone who was as good a player as he was, was fantastic. But I’ve done that all my career, stayed out for a bit of crossing or shooting or whatever.”
Now Milner believes he’s part of an exceptional set-up at City: “We’ve got a squad of world-class players and it’s great to be here, learning from them.
“The mix is very, very good, and it’s exciting times here. We won’t get ahead of ourselves, but we all want to create history for this club and to win trophies.”
