James Milner exclusive: ‘Run until the first person is sick!’ - How history-making Premier League title winner blends old school with the new

Milner made his senior debut with Leeds at the age of 16. The best part of 25 years later, the evergreen midfielder has reached 655 Premier League appearances - pulling him clear of fellow former Aston Villa and Manchester City star Gareth Barry at the top of that particular chart.

The game has, unsurprisingly, changed quite considerably over the last quarter of a century. Advances in sports science have helped the likes of Milner to enjoy remarkable longevity, with vital statistics in football circles no longer focused solely on games, goals and assists.

Embracing those advances has been a big part of Milner’s make-up, with the evergreen midfielder - who now forms part of Specsavers' Best Worst Team project - telling GOAL when asked if he has always opened himself up to new ways of thinking: “I think I have. I think change is never easy. I've always been inquisitive. I've always asked questions. I'm not just going to jump through a hoop because you say it's the right thing to do. I'm going to challenge, I'm going to ask why and, you know, give me the information. Why is this? Why are we doing this? Why are we doing this now? Why is it not tomorrow? Why do we do it these days and not every day? If it's something that's right, we should do it every single day instead of just these days. So I always try and learn as much as I can. 

“Once you have that information, we're fortunate now with the amount of people we have working at the club. When I started, you maybe had a couple of physios, maybe a masseur part-time, something like that, one fitness coach. And now the fitness department's probably got five, six people in. 

“So I'm doing GPS data, how far are you running? And it's not just ‘right today, lads, first day of pre-season, we're going to run until the first person's sick, and when the first person's sick, we'll stop’. It's ‘right, today we're doing five kilometers and we're going to do 750 high speed, and you need to hit over 90% peak speed for the day because it's a high speed day and it's sprint distance’. So it's moved a long, long way from that. 

“And there's no right or wrong because I think you gain so much from the old school way of ‘we're running up these hills, we're running until you're sick’. That togetherness, that team spirit of going through that pain together, that ‘my legs are absolutely hanging’, but you keep going. And the things you gain from that, you might get more injuries and stuff like that potentially. But what you gain from the mindset togetherness, as opposed to how we do it now and everybody's on a laptop - you know exactly how far you've run - you probably lose some things, but you gain some things. I feel pretty fortunate that I've experienced both sides of the game.”

Milner has reaped the rewards of his efforts. He has suffered a couple of serious injuries at Brighton, spending over seven months on the sidelines with a knee problem last season, but can consider himself to have been relatively fortunate on the fitness front.

Quizzed on whether working hard on body and mind helps to prevent ailments and allows for quicker recovery, Milner said: “A bit. I'd say you need a bit of luck, obviously, as well. I feel I've had plenty of injuries that I've been able to play through as well. And, you know, that's maybe a bit of mentality to push through the pain and keep going and stuff like that. But I think that a lot of the off-field stuff and taking advantage of how the game's changed since I started and, you know, more physios, more sports scientists, more information about diet, the mental side, recovery.

“More physios and therapists and things working at the club, more time given to recovery and things like that. Having those at your disposal, but then taking the interest, asking questions, learning about that, knowing what's right for your body and what's right for me won't be right for another two different players. I prefer doing an ice bath after a game, like 10, 12 minutes maybe. And then the day after I'll do hot-cold, whereas others might not want to ice bath after a game, but they'll do the day after. Things like this. Some people might prefer covering tights and pumps for your legs and other people don't like massage.

“I think that's important - learning, trying things, what's best for you, how you feel and working that out yourself, I think. And then having that mindset to make sure you do it.”

Milner has been offering priceless advice to Warley FC - a side that registered just one win and suffered 18 defeats last season, conceding 81 goals in the process. He is, as a Premier League champion, living proof that hard work pays off.

He has often been picked out by club colleagues as the most committed trainer in any given squad, and said when asked if those are qualities that he has always prided himself on - with Yorkshire grit at his core: “I think I always tried to work as hard as I could all the way through. And I always tried to be the best player in training and get everything you can out of every single day. So, that's something that I've always had, I suppose, and pushed. It's the only way I really know how to deal with situations. 

“I think, obviously when things aren’t going your way or you're not getting picked, you try and work harder and push harder and show people how good you are in training to get in the team. 

“If things are going against you, it's pointless sulking. I don't think that's going to affect anything. It's trying to prove that you should be in the team or even to make yourself feel better. I think sometimes if you've had a bad game or the result's gone against you, that horrible feeling after a game is the worst feeling in the world, and you don't feel any better about it until you train again. You might go out and beast yourself and you want to push yourself to the limit to make yourself feel a bit better. So, maybe that's part of it as well.”

That approach has served Milner well, with his willingness to commit fully to any given cause burning as brightly in 2026 as it did when starting out in 2002. He is a source of inspiration to players at every level of the game - from the parks of grassroots to the lush turf of Wembley Stadium - and goes to show that ice baths and running until you are sick are all part of whatever process works best for you.

Warley FC's transformation is being documented by Specsavers in its ‘Best Worst Team’ YouTube series. Watch James Milner in episode 6 and subscribe to the Specsavers’ Best Worst Team YouTube Channel to follow the team's journey.