James Milner is confident things will 'come good' for Liverpool

Liverpool midfielder James Milner says he is convinced good times are ahead if the team sticks together and continue to work hard.

The England international joined the Reds in the summer and he was captain against Aston Villa on Saturday, scoring the opener in a 3-2 victory.

The win was a welcome boost for a Liverpool side who came in for criticism after a somewhat laboured penalty shoot-out win over League Two Carlisle in the Capital One Cup followed a run of four games without a win in the Premier League.

And Milner says the players need to ignore the views of people outside the club and concentrate on improving as a team.

He told Liverpool TV: "At times when things aren't going well, it's important you stick together.

"There have been a lot of things said outside the club at this moment. It's down to us not to take any notice of that, stick together, stay together as a club, and keep believing what we're doing is right.

"We're working very hard to keep improving and be the team we want to be. I'm sure if we continue the amount of work we're putting in, it has to come good."

Milner was previously at Manchester City and therefore knows what it is like to play at a club where the expectations are high.

"I've been fortunate to play for big clubs throughout my career and that's the pressure you get playing in the Premier League and at the top level," he said.

"There's always going to be that spotlight and pressure.

"When things aren't going well, it's going to come down on you. Equally, when things are going well, people can get carried away. It's important that we keep that level mind-set and concentrate on our business.

"It's when things aren't going well that you see who wants it the most and who wants to stand up and be counted.

"We've got some big personalities and big players who want to stick together and put in performances. It was a big performance at the weekend. That's a start for us and we need to move on from there.

"Going a couple in front and then conceding so quickly to 2-1, it could have been 'here we go again', and people going into their shells and hanging on, but we went straight up the other end and scored again.

"I think that was really important and showed the character in the squad."

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