I would feel sick if Liverpool failed to qualify for Champions League - James Milner

Liverpool vice-captain James Milner said he would feel "sick" if Liverpool failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Milner missed a second-half penalty as Jurgen Klopp's men were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Southampton on Sunday.
The outcome was a major blow to their ambition of a top-four finish in the Premier League, in spite of the fact that they sit third in the Premier League.
Milner said he would be sick if Liverpool were not able to end the season strongly and finish in the top four.
"When asked how he would feel if they missed out in the top four? Sick," he disclosed to UK daily papers.

READ ALSO: Milner isn't to blame for Liverpool´s Southampton setback - Klopp


"This is a club and a side that should be in the Champions League. We will be in Europe however the Champions League is the place everybody wants to be.
A lot sitting on the Southampton game and I had to assume the responsibility for missing the penalty. Hopefully, fortune will shine on us, and we will finish the job. We have made improvements this year, and we know where we need to improve again.
"We have appeared on any one day we can beat anybody so in the event that we could get in the Champions League we know we could be a match for anybody. We must do it reliably."

Words from the vice-captain... pic.twitter.com/lBD9H7uyMp

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 8, 2017

Liverpool sits third with 70 points on the Premier League table, ahead of Manchester City (69 focuses), United (65) and Arsenal (63) – however having played one game than each of their opponents.
Milner lamented his side's inability to beat supposed lesser groups this season, having dropped various points against rivals they were relied upon to beat.
"You take a look at the outcomes all season. We have lost points where you won't anticipate, and there have been some disappointing games," he said.
"We carry out the job better, and we are battling for the title, it doesn't mind fighting to get into the top-four.
Liverpool still have to face West Ham away this season and a meeting with Middlesbrough at home.

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Jurgen Klopp Advised to sign Southampton's Ryan Bertrand

Garth Crooks has praised Southampton defender Ryan Bertrand's execution against Liverpool on Sunday and said the Reds ought to "pay whatever it takes" to sign the left-back this summer.
James Milner missed a second-half penalty as Liverpool's expectations of securing a Premier League top four spots endured a slip in a goalless draw against Southampton.
Jurgen Klopp's side once in a while tried goalkeeper Fraser Forster, yet the England international had to be wide-awake to deny Milner from the spot and furthermore a Marko Grujic goal-bound header later on.
An essential part of the point Southampton earned was the performance of Jack Stephens, Maya Yoshida, Cedric Soares and especially Bertrand.
The 27-year-old put in a strong execution at the left-back and Garth Crooks was full of praise for the ex-Chelsea defender after the game, asking Liverpool to sign him at the end of the season.
“This lad has become a top-class performer,” Crooks told BBC Sport. "To watch his improvement at Southampton has been a genuine delight. We as a whole realized that he was a player as a youngster at Chelsea – the question was: What kind of player?
"He demonstrated maturity above his age when he amazed all of us and performed so well in the 2012 Champions League final in Munich, yet everything appeared to come too early.
"Since leaving Stamford Bridge, he has turned into the ace of his own fate and looks more accomplished the more I see him. Against Liverpool, who seemed to get edgier consistently, Bertrand look formed and in charge.
"Notwithstanding when he got his yellow card for kicking the ball away he knew exactly what he was doing; preventing the ball from re-entering the field of play before the Saints could reassemble. He took a booking for the team.
"Even if Liverpool qualify for Champions League next season I genuinely recommend Jurgen Klopp gets his checkbook out and pay whatever it takes to take Bertrand to Anfield. The player is in that class."
Bertrand got through Gillingham's Academy as a youngster, before he then joined Chelsea's youth team in 2005.
Eventually, a lack of game time forced him to proceed onward, yet he has been linked with a move back, while Liverpool has also been tipped to snap him up.

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Milner isn't to blame for Liverpool´s Southampton setback - Klopp

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp feels other reasons must have affected the game besides James Milner's saved penalty after Southampton left Anfield with a 0-0 draw.

The hosts were baffled by a deep-lying and well-manned  Southampton defense. However, looked set to get the breakthrough when Jack Stephens was penalized for handball inside the box in the 64th minutes.
In any case, Milner's typical dependability betrayed him as he couldn't accurately pick out the bottom left corner as Saints goalkeeper Fraser saved brilliantly.
Former England international Milner last failed from the spot in the Premier League in November 2009 and had scored seven times from seven appearances this season.

READ ALSO:  Jurgen Klopp frustrated over Liverpool's reputation against smaller teams

Milner claimed responsibility for a setback that left Liverpool's Champions League hopes out of their hands during a post-match interview. However, Klopp refused to be so harsh.
"He ought not to point the finger at himself – that is football," he told Sky Sports.
"Him scoring would have aided apparently, however, that is by all account not the only definitive thing."
Without a doubt, Klopp and his men were frustrated by opponents playing with limited ambition.

0-0 - Liverpool have drawn 0-0 home and away against the same opponent in a PL season for the first time since 2008/09 against Stoke. Dull.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 7, 2017

"I thought it was good enough to win," he said of Liverpool's performance. "I thought Southampton played really unlike how they normally do.
"I'm fine with our defending more than an hour and a half since they didn't create any chance.
"To play against ten deep defending Southampton players is tough and exceptionally troublesome. We had our moments, and We should have scored, that would have opened them up a bit.
Klopp said, "It is not finished yet. We all need to play our games.
"We go to West Ham, will attempt to win and that is everything we can do. We go for everything, and we don't stop."

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