Milner: I've already got one eye on pre-season

Liverpool secured fourth place in the Premier League with the final-day win over Middlesbrough but a ticket into the group stages of Europe’s elite club competition remains a two-legged play-off away.

That crucial tie will come in August but the preparations towards it, and of course the new league campaign, are set to begin in earnest during the opening week of next month.

Milner is enjoying the current opportunity to rest and recharge after missing only two Premier League games last term, though the vice-captain’s focus rarely wavers from the job.

“The off season is always a funny one – you enjoy yourself and relax but you’ve always got one eye on pre-season and making sure you’re right and…