🎤 Danny Mills Interview with OLBG.com

November 2022

With five centre-backs at City, what's the best way to keep all of them happy?

I think it's always difficult to keep top players very happy. What you have to do is rotate your squad and make it clear that no one is being dropped, as such, which is never easy because no one likes being rested.

No one likes being left out especially if you're playing quite well. But that centre back partnership is vital, and you've got to get consistency and continuity with it.

It's difficult to manage but Manchester City will have an abundance of games where they can rotate. You're looking at the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Champions League games where they are able to do that at times.

There will be opportunities for other players, but I think we've seen in the past where the likes of Liverpool struggled in the league because Van Dijk was missing.

Manchester City struggled because their centre-halve partnership wasn't strong enough. It's very much a cliché but defenders win you Championships. You've got to keep clean sheets and have very tight defence to win anything.

You're not going to win 5-4 every single week, football doesn't work like that so if you're conceding two or three goals a game then it's going to bite you in the bum at some point.

So, it is difficult, but I think these players know that when you go to Manchester City, unless you're Erling Haaland, that you might not go straight into the first team.

You've got to play well and keep playing well. Players won't mind that, but we all know players have a massive ego and a huge degree of confidence, bordering on arrogance at times, but they'll all back themselves.

They will all believe that if they're playing well that they deserve to be in that team. When you're winning it's quite easy to leave players out because when someone comes knocking on your door, it's a very easy conversation for the manager

When you start losing it becomes a problem, but it's probably more difficult for those mid-table teams and teams lower down. They will have a more genuine issue and reason to ask why they aren't in the team.

It's not easy but whilst you're competing for the Champions League, winning league titles and other cups, it's a lot easier to keep people happy. 

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What is City's strongest centre-back pairing this season?

I think it's a real difficult one, but for me Ruben Dias has to be in there. I think it's him and one other if everyone is fit and firing well. At the moment I'm probably looking at Akanji alongside him or a fit and firing John Stones. Again, that hasn't happened too often for Stones this season so far with the injury he picked up.

I still think Nathan Ake is a little bit of a backup and for some reason Aymeric Laporte has just gone off the boil a touch. I'm not quite sure why, it could be down to injuries or a loss of form but I think Ruben Dias is your main man in there, then I actually don't think it matters who you play alongside him.

It reminds me of the Virgil van Dijk situation, if you had to choose one you don't want to lose in your squad, then it would be Ruben Dias.

 Image: shutterstock

How impressive have Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake been this season to disrupt the other three more experiences centre-backs?

It's never easy when you're on the fringes because as we all know it can take quite a few games to get match fit and find that sharpness. You can train every day and do extra work in the gym but that match sharpness and match tempo can take five or six games to get back. To come in and play well means they're both doing exceptionally. 

It does help that you're in a team that controls games and dominates the ball. The opposition don't get too many opportunities to get at you, but it can a different challenge on maintaining your focus. It's like goalkeepers, if they're making constant saves then they look unbeatable because they get in the zone. But for Manchester City it will always be about concentration issues because you have the ball an awful lot.

You're not actually asked to do too much defending at times so mentally you have to be very sharp and very focused. That is where lesser players struggle, all players have ability but to have that mental strength and mental focus especially when you haven't been playing is really difficult. It's credit to those players at Manchester City that have been able to do that.

Leeds looked to be in a bit of trouble after a couple of bad results, but how big was that win over Liverpool for their season?

It was absolutely huge. I did fear for them going into the game, especially after what happened to Liverpool against Nottingham Forest. I think the last time they had a really poor result they went on to beat Bournemouth 9-0. You start to think at Anfield that someone's poked the bear and you don't really want to be doing that going into a game with them, especially at Anfield. But Leeds were on the front foot, got fortunate with the opening goal but they worked hard and got rewards for that.

Image: chillilogic.com, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Liverpool weren't at their best and missed some chances but I think it's a huge result and absolutely vital. Leeds have some tough fixtures coming up before and after the World Cup break. Spurs away is their last game before that and there was a fear that they might not pick any more points up before the World Cup. Suddenly now it's given Jesse Marsch some breathing space, I wasn't quite sure what the celebration was about though!

Whether you’re Leeds or not it looked a little bit strange, and my kids were watching and asking what he was doing? It was a little bit of a teenage celebration, but it was massive win for them. You can't keep saying to people you're playing well and keep losing games because they haven't been playing particularly well. That's been papering over the cracks at times.

I said at the start of the season that they had to hit the ground running and had to get off to a good start because with all those players it can go wrong quickly.

They did have a fantastic start and a great couple of wins, and you wondered where they could go. But I still think they're trying to work out their best way of playing and scoring goals will be a big issue for them. If you don't score goals and are a bit leaky at the other end, then you'll have big problems. 

How big will the game against Bournemouth be this weekend in terms of how the battle for relegation is shaping up?

It's not a must-win but it's almost a must not lose. You don't want to start giving other teams a leg up, so you've got to be solid, and your mentality has to be that you don't get beat. It cannot happen in this game because Bournemouth pick up another three points and if you go into the World Cup break in the bottom three with six or seven weeks until your next fixture, then that's tough. It's all you're going to be thinking about and it's not easy to do that.

They've got to go into that game with a different attitude and determined not to get beat. Jesse Marsch said in his press conference that he's never lost so many games in his life, well you've not been in the Premier League before. He's been in slightly easier leagues and at teams who have been higher up in those leagues where you're expected to win.

Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0

It'll be tough, Bournemouth have had some really good performances and then some semi-disasters. For example, when they've been leading 2-0 and ended up losing the game. On paper this sort of game says it could be five each, but if you asked both managers now they'd probably both take a 0-0.

It’s coming up to a year since Patrick Bamford last scored a goal for Leeds, how worrying is it if he can’t rediscover his best form?

I think it is a bit of a concern because he's so heavily relied on. Under Bielsa, it wasn't just his goals, but it was the way he played and lead the line for Leeds. This time around it's going to be more about his goals, putting the ball in the back of the net and getting those numbers up. Obviously, he's missed a penalty already and missed a couple of really good chances. Inadvertently he's blocked a couple of shots as well that were heading goalward.

I think if you were to ask most Leeds fans and people who have watched Bamford for the majority of his career there, they would say it's a similar season before his wonder season.

That season before they got into the Premier League, he would have moments of scoring some really good goals and have moments of missing some really big chances. He would miss one on ones and other opportunities; he wasn't anywhere near prolific.

He's had one season in the Premier League where he was outstanding, everything he seemed to hit went into the back of the net. It was a phenomenal season, but he's didn't really do it before that, and he hasn't done it since. You do have to question whether it was a bit of a one off. When you look at other great goal scorers, they're still hitting those numbers.

They might hit 20 one season, but they still hit 15 or in and around that every other season which Patrick Bamford has never really done in his career.

Leeds have to find a way to score goals, it's not helping that they've gifted goals at times to the opposition. But you've got to have a goal threat because if you don't have that it allows other teams to push up higher and put your defence under much more pressure.

If anything, Leeds have maybe got to look for strength in that position.

January is never a good time to buy, but if you want to survive in the Premier League then it's a position they may have to look at. Joe Gelhardt has never really been given too much of a chance even when Bamford was out injured. Rodrigo is a senior player who's in the twilight of his career in terms of age, but again he's not going to be prolific.

So, I think it's a concern and the reliant on Bamford was huge, but he's just not delivering at the moment.

You were very critical of the Cristiano Ronaldo situation when it happened, are you surprised Erik Ten Hag has brought him back into the fold or has he dealt with the situation the best he possibly could have done?

I think he's dealt with it in the only way he could have done. He took a very strong stance and said that's it, it's unacceptable and made it quite clear to the team, the club and the players that it will not be tolerated, and you'll be out for one game. That was the end of it, he's obviously had a chat with Ronaldo, and it's been resolved. It was a case of can you cut your nose off to spite your face as a manager.

Image: Christian Bertrand/shutterstock

It was very difficult to deal with because can you really ostracise a player like Cristiano Ronaldo? It was almost the perfect storm for Ten Hag because he used his muscle, his weight and his authority. It sent a message, “even if Cristiano Ronaldo behaves like this, then this is how you will be treated”. If you don't respect the team, if you don't respect the club or me as a manager then this is what's going to happen. You will not play; you'll train on your own and you'll suffer because of it. Ronaldo obviously had to have a bit of a climb down and an apology because it was poor from him.

I don't care what anybody says, it doesn't matter if you're Messi, if you're Ronaldo (R9) or Maradona in your prime, you do not refuse to go on the pitch and you do not walk off before the game has finished. That is disrespectful and it's shocking disgraceful behaviour. It doesn't matter who you are, you lead by example. Leaders lead and he's done that for the majority of his career, but that's not leading.

For Ten Hag it's been the perfect opportunity to show everyone that no one is bigger than the club. This might be one of the best players we've ever seen, but if you're not doing as you're told then this is how you're going to be treated. I think everyone backed Ten Hag and understood the situation completely and it's now probably given him more authority.

He's also shown empathy and emotional intelligence, he's apologised and as long as he doesn't do it again, I'll bring him back into the fold and he'll be a part of the team.

Other players would have been thinking this is Ronaldo, we can still use him, and he'll still score goals for us. Ten Hag has been clever enough to say punishment has been served, but if it happens again then it could be a real problem. But I don't think that'll happen.

How impressed have you been with Diogo Dalot this season and how important is it that the club sort out his contract situation?

I think Manchester United have struggled in the fullback areas for some time really. Right back has been an issue for a long time, they haven't been able to really nail down that position. I know Wan-Bissaka came in, but it's never really worked out and left-back has been an issue at times as well. When Dalot came in as a youngster there was a lot of potential there and sometimes it can take time to settle and work things out. It takes time for people to mature and now we're starting to see a player who had huge quality which is why he was brought to Manchester United in the first place. You don't go to these big clubs unless you're a good player. But now he's starting to understand the game better and understand his defensive role better.

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I think a lot of that will come down to Ten Hag, when you looked at the work he did at Ajax his philosophy was let's work on the individuals. It's a little bit like the work we've seen in the past with someone like Sir Clive Woodward in rugby. If you make all the individuals 10% better, then you end up making the team 20-25% better because of that result. That seems to me what Ten Hag is working on, he wants to improve individuals, work on their weaknesses and give them a better understanding of the game. I think because of that it's helping to improve Dalot.

The principles of being a good defender is hard, it's mainly about being in the right position. You don't really have to tackle in this day and age, it's about delaying, positioning yourself on the pitch and anticipating danger. You can work on that; you can go through analysis and all the videos and work on it on the training ground.

Editorial credit: kivnl / Shutterstock.com

All these small details make a huge difference and it's a credit to Dalot that he's clearly listening to the coaches and allowing himself to become a better player. It's working for him and he's becoming a big part of this Manchester United team at the moment.

Graham Potter has been forced to make early tweaks and changes in recent weeks and they appeared to cost him against Brighton on Saturday. What have you made of that approach so far?

I think some of it has been forced with the players unavailable at Chelsea due to injury, I also think there's a touch of over-tweaking at times. He's gone from Brighton where he was the master, he decided everything from probably what they had for lunch to what transfer they brought in. It was all his decisions, the players respected that, and I don't think there would have been much pushback from the players at Brighton. Now what you have is a squad of senior internationals who have won trophies and won more than Graham Potter in the game.

Martin Årseth, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

They're more experienced in terms of football, obviously not management but what they've been through in their careers. There will be one or two questions asked and at the moment I think Potter is trying to work everybody out and going too far in terms of trying to keep people happy. I don't think he wants to burn any bridges right now by out casting anyone and having a preferred XI or his strongest team. I don't think he wants to do that when he's only 10 or so games into his tenure. He's tinkered with it a little bit, trying to work out the players and what their best positions are.

It's a combination of injuries and not wanting to upset one or two players, especially senior ones. They've had good results though; they've only lost one game so it isn't a disastrous start and Brighton would have been up for that game. I don't think anybody expected that result, but he needs to be careful and get these last few games out of the way without any issues.

Then he can come back after the World Cup and some of those decisions might be taken out of his hands, but he might be able to bring in one or two and get rid of those he doesn't fancy. He will have had six weeks to think about where he needs to be, and I think we'll see a different Chelsea come the end of December and January.

Photo: Shutterstock/fifg

Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic have been frequently used in wing-back roles – is it time to end that experiment?

It doesn't seem to be working and Raheem Sterling is simply not a wing-back, he's a forward player. I know in this day and age there's not much between the two, but if you've got a goal scorer with the numbers Sterling has then he shouldn't be at wing-back. Yes, he might miss chances but if you've got a goal scorer then why play them at wing-back.

It was like when people used to say Steven Gerrard could play at fullback, why would you waste him at fullback when you've got one of the greatest midfielders of all time. 

Raheem Sterling is still one of the best forward players around, so don't put him at wing-back. Yes, he can do a job but you're taking away so much from his game that he's good at which distracts from him and the team. Obviously, Reece James being injured is a big problem and he hasn't been able to find a left wing-back. Ben Chillwell is in and out with injuries and hasn't quite hit the form they wanted.

They've got Cucurella who I thought was a fullback, but now seems to be playing as a centre-half but Graham Potter knows him very well. Sometimes you have to just put your strongest players in their strongest positions, and I believe that's the best option. If you have to fill other positions with weaker places, then that's fine.

I've always said don't take away from two positions if you only have to take away from one.

Антон Зайцев, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons

You play Raheem Sterling as a forward then you have no problems, but if you're having to play him as a wing-back, not only are you taking him away from his position, but you're putting someone who isn't as good in the forward position. Play Raheem Sterling as a forward who's high and wide and just put somebody else in that wing-back position. You're weakening one position then, instead of two.

Are you already starting to see which players will not be part of the long-term plan for Potter at Chelsea?

Injuries haven't helped him in that way, and I still think he's trying to work out what his best formation is with this squad. There's a lot of midfielders in there and obviously N'golo Kante is injured as well. Kovacic is a superb player in there and Jorginho as well, they have Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher who can be classed in the same category. Ruben Loftus-Cheek as well, is he better in midfield or as a wing-back?

There are so many good players at Chelsea that it must be difficult to leave anyone out.

Image: Lachlan Fearnley/Wikimedia Commons

You'll see things in training that would amaze you, but if you haven't seen what they can do in a game then you might have to leave them out. Players perform differently in training compared to games, some players are amazing in training but come to matchday and aren't as good. Some people are terrible in training but can turn it on, on a matchday which is just the way of the world sometimes. I think he needs to almost trim down his squad a little bit, at Brighton he would have been used to working with a much smaller squad.

At the moment he's probably got 25 players who he could pick from, and it must be difficult.

He might be thinking if he leaves people out and they don't perform well then there would be issues and questions asked. It's something Potter has to get used to and it was always likely to happen when you move from a club like Brighton to Chelsea.

As a right back yourself back in the day, the selection dilemma for England must excite you ahead of the World Cup. Would you take the risk and name an unfit Reece James in the squad? In your opinion, who starts the first game in that position?

At the moment it's Kieran Trippier and there's no conversation at all about it. No one else is fit and Trent Alexander-Arnold is out of form, it's as simple as that. I've said all along that my second choice out and out right back would be Kieran Trippier if everyone is fit. He's a superb player, he can play multiple positions if needs be as well.

People talk about Trent's delivery and forget that in 2018 Trippier played as a wing-back and Walker played as a centre-back to fit them both in and that was because of Trippier's delivery. It's exceptional, he takes a lot of the set pieces and of course he scored in a World Cup semi-final.

He has a lot of experience and is a very good defender, he won a league title with Atletico Madrid, and you have to be some defender to play for Simeone week in week out. He has tremendous experience in that position and we're not talking about picking players for the group games.

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We expect England to beat Iran, we expect England to beat the USA and we expect England to beat Wales. Ok there might be a draw in there, but we expect England to get out of the group convincingly. It's then down to who you get in the knockout phases when you come up against good teams and some really good players.

So, you need good defenders and Trippier for me is my out and out first choice right back without a shadow of a doubt. I wouldn't even take Reece James; he's not going to be fit and the squad goes in less than two weeks. He's not going to be fit enough to go.

Kyle Walker there is a possibility he could be fit and Gareth Southgate will have to work with the Manchester City medical staff and the fitness coaches to see how fit he is.

Can he squeeze in a game between now and then? Possibly with the U21s or whoever. That will be the difficulty for him.

Southgate might well take him on the basis he can play one or two positions and let's not forget he took Harry Maguire to the Euros who didn't play at the end of the season.

Image: Shutterstock/Dokshin Vlad

With Kyle Walker you can probably get away with it because of his experience, if it was a young player, I think it would be very difficult. If Kyle Walker has a week or two of full training, then I would take him because of the size of the squad he's got. I think he's a fantastic player, he has a lot of leadership experience, and he can play in different positions, so you might need him.

Maybe not in the first group game, you might be able to bring him on for 10 or 15 minutes, then maybe 30 minutes in the second game and wherever you might need him in other games. But Kieran Trippier if he starts might be playing exceptionally well that we might not need Walker at all, which you hope.

Trent I still say is a backup for England with all four fullbacks fit, obviously Reece James won't be a part of it. But Trent doesn't get in my squad if they're all fit, he gets in it now with the injuries, but he wouldn't go otherwise for me. Trent's defensively frailties are where his problems lie, and it's always been the same problem.

Going forward he is exceptional; he's allowed to play in a Liverpool side that suits his game and allows him to get forward at will. He doesn't always have to be in those perfect defensive positions and be that solid. Most defenders think about defending first and attacking second but he's the complete opposite.

You can't get away with that in big games, even when Liverpool are winning games we see him get caught out from time to time in big games. He's been caught out numerous times this season and even Jurgen Klopp has left him out at times. He's cost them goals and cost them problems which Southgate will be weary of. Trent has all the ability in the world, he just needs to tweak his mentality slightly.

With all his ability and his incredible football brain, he could change the dynamic almost within weeks. It's just a matter of the way he thinks and learning those positions to be in. If he was working with a very good defensive coach who was pointing these things out and if he wanted to learn that side of the game, then he could undoubtedly become one of the best fullbacks we've ever seen.

But until he gets that defensive thought process in his head, then that's not going to happen. 

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Another debate is around who will be back up to Harry Kane, but is it more of a case of taking someone who can compliment Kane if England are chasing a game? And who should that striker/forward be?

It's difficult for anyone coming in because Harry Kane starts and it's as simple as that. The way England play at the moment, it's usually one forward the majority of the time.

Photo: Shutterstock/Cosmin Iftode

Harry Kane is going to be there, touch wood, for the duration of the tournament.We have other options in other areas and attacking positions where we can help Kane out. The days of going two up top and going route one have gone I think. You also have to think about the Jamie Vardy debate, people used to say if you're chasing a game then you bring Jamie Vardy on

Actually, you want the opposite type of player because if you're chasing a game then the opposition will be sitting back rather than being able to hit them on the counter. They aren't leaving spaces in behind because they'll be camped out defending for their lives. So, you need players with a little bit of guile and who are a little bit different.

That's when you look at those creative players or the wingers who can dribble past people to do something different. There's always the option to put crosses into the box and score headed goals. But right now, it's difficult to choose, if everyone is fit and firing at the peak of their powers then Callum Wilson is in the frame. He's playing with confidence and scoring goals; he's a threat and he can score all types of goals.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin if he's fit and firing will offer something a little different. But after that it's difficult, Tammy Abraham I don't see enough of him at Roma to decide. People talk about Ivan Toney but for me that's a big gamble to throw someone in who hasn't been around. Gareth Southgate has seen him in training in the last squad and he didn't get any minutes in those games and there's a reason.

If Ivan Toney would have been outstanding in training and smashing in goals left, right and centre and doing everything they thought he could do, then he would have played in one of those games. But he didn't, so you have to respect the coach and think maybe there's something that's not there.

Marcus Rashford has come into a little bit of form as well and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets the nod. Southgate has worked with him before and knows what he is going to offer, he's also scoring goals at the moment. So, I think he could be another option, but the problem is we don't have a number two, out-and-out number nine. There's no clear option if Harry Kane is injured or out of form, I think England would be struggling.

You went to the 2002 World Cup and a lot was said prior to that tournament about how hot the conditions would be, how did you cope and how will players have to manage themselves in Qatar?

Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Guardian

Bizarrely before the 2002 World Cup we went to Dubai for a mini pre-season for a week to acclimatise to it. It's 32 degrees currently at the peak of the day so it is hot and we did have that in Japan as well. You do get used to it though and you have to remember that these stadiums are all air-conditioned. We've all seen the huge vents going round the side of the pitches which are blowing cold air in.

I'd be surprised if the stadiums are even that hot, it will feel like FA Cup final day or pre-season. I don't mind that at all, the way the game is played is at a different tempo to what it was 15 or 20 years ago.

International football is played at a different tempo to what you see in the majority of the Premier League. People keep the ball better, it's more patient and you build up from the back. Very rarely will you see a World Cup game that is end-to-end like the Premier League or a basketball game.

The running is shorter bursts and longer rests, the total amount of running is pretty much the same as what it was. I don't personally think the heat will be a problem for these players. I remember when it was in America and we had drink breaks for the first time, I don't think it'll be an issue.

The stadiums will be cool enough for the players to play on, it might be a different story for the fans and people outside the stadium. But I don't think the heat will be a massive problem during this World Cup, certainly not in the stadiums that's for sure.