James Milner: 'We must show team spirit'

James Milner has urged his Manchester City teammates to pull together as they kick off their Europa League campaign tonight against Porto.

Milner, whose team were knocked out of both domestic cup competitions a month ago on the back of their elimination from the Champions League in December, insists that team spirit will be important for the remainder of the season.

"It's important to have a good team spirit in the squad, and throughout the season we have had that," he said. "You are going to face tough teams in tough spots. You might go down to 10 men and be under pressure.

"That's when we need to pull together and show that team spirit.

"We're going well in the league and we have to keep pushing forward, but when things are not going right then togetherness and team spirit can get us what we need."

Manchester City currently lead the Premier League by two points.