Good time to seize the initiative

JAMES Milner hopes champions Manchester City can now seize the initiative in the title race.

City are joint top of the league with Chelsea after hitting a rich spell of form. They trailed the Londoners by eight points in November and their indifferent form was raising questions over the long–term future of boss Manuel Pellegrini.

But many doubts have been swept aside amid a run of 13 unbeaten games. Now Milner sees no reason why momentum can’t be maintained.

“Hopefully we’ll open up a little gap of our own,” said Milner, who underlined his importance to the side with a vital double in Sunday’s FA Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday.

“All we can do is concentrate on our games and if we can get the results we want to get, it depends on how Chelsea do.”