IT might be the toughest task in the Premier League at the moment, but Lewis Miley insists he is not fazed by the prospect of lining up against Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow night.
Liverpool moved 11 points clear at the top of the table when they beat Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon and look all-but-certain to be crowned champions after a hugely-impressive season.
Newcastle returned to the top five when they hung on to beat Nottingham Forest at the weekend, but have an awful record at Anfield, having failed to win on their last 28 visits to Liverpool’s home ground.
Miley will be taking on some of the best midfielders and forwards in world football if he retains his place in the starting line-up after impressing on his first start of the season in Sunday’s win over Forest.
But while the challenge of lining up against the likes of Mo Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominic Szoboszlai is a considerable one, the Stanley-born 18-year-old will be taking it in his stride.
“I think every team you play against is top at this level,” said Miley, who spent the first half of the season on the sidelines after suffering a broken metatarsal in the summer. “I don't think anyone's really bad.
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“I think you've just got to take it game by game and look at your opponent and get the better of them, really.
“I think I just believe in myself. And I think us as a group, we just believe in ourselves and believe we can reach big things. I think that's what you've just got to look at and keep believing.”
Tomorrow’s game is a dress rehearsal for next month’s Carabao Cup final, but while Newcastle’s supporters might be finalising plans for the trip to Wembley, Miley insists he and his team-mates are not looking beyond the first of the two meetings with Liverpool.
“I've got to take it game by game and just keep looking to the next match really, and not be looking at the final,” he said. “I think if you look at the final, you could end up building it up too much. I think you have just got to keep looking at who you're playing next.”
Newcastle will be hoping to build on Sunday’s victory, which saw them race into a 4-1 half-time as they blitzed Forest with some of their best attacking football of the season.
The second half was a different story, with the visitors clawing two goals back as the Magpies were forced to endure a nervy finish, but having been thrashed at Manchester City eight days earlier, Miley it was simply crucial to emerge with all three points.
“I think it was a really big and important win,” said the teenager. “Obviously, it wasn't good at the start when Forest scored, but I think my goal put us in good stead. I think after that we played well in the first half, and we got a few goals.
“The second half was quite scrappy, and I think we got put under pressure. We needed to get the ball back on the floor, but I don't think we really did. But we managed to grind it out and get the win.”
