Emotional Lingard opens up on difficult season at Manchester United

Jesse Lingard has opened up on a season which has been “difficult for so many reasons”.

The 27-year-old, who finished the season with an important winning goal against Leicester City, has once again admitted he was “lost as a player and person” during the campaign.

He made just nine Premier League starts and fell down the pecking order under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford.

“I never wanted to give up,” Lingard posted on Instagram. “I knew who I really was on and off the pitch.

“Having been there before I knew I could get there again. It meant working harder than I’d ever done before.”

Lingard also acknowledged the fans “frustrations” which have been plentiful on social media but he seems adamant to stress that this is not the end of the road, by saying his “love for this club and everyone connected to it has never left me.”

“This team, this club is my family and I will continue to keep working harder than ever to help this team achieve its goals.”

 

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Im starting with the man in the mirror im asking him to change his ways. This season has been difficult for so many reasons. I lost who I was as a player and person, but I never wanted to give up, I knew who I really was on and off the pitch and knew that having been there before I could get there again. This meant working harder than I’d ever done before and trusting in those around me that they knew how to best help me achieve that. I know the fans have been frustrated but in all this time my love for this club and everyone connected to it has never left me. This team, this club is my family and I will continue to keep working harder than ever to help this team achieve its goals. ❤️🔴🙏🏾 #MUFamily

A post shared by JLingz👑 (@jesselingard) on

A lot of the negative attention Lingard was attracting came from his social media channels. He revealed he had been told he was on his last chance by Solskjaer following an incident last summer.

“I wasn’t performing and he [Solskjaer] was on me all the time. He wanted more from me,” he added.

Lingard has been in the firing line so many times and this season he was reportedly racially abused back in March as he boarded the team boss after the club’s FA Cup win at Derby County’s Pride Park.

It’s a disgrace and all towards a lad who loves playing for his boyhood club. Not to mention he also had assumed greater responsibility for his younger siblings after his mother fell ill earlier in the season.

Apparently his new agent, Mino Raiola, almost came to blows with the club over support for Lingard, as per The Athletic. United shouldn’t just sit there and let that stuff continue.

The trolls online are always biting but it’s clear that Lingard is trying to overcome a difficult patch in his career. Instead of slating your own player, let’s get behind him, just like I explained on this week’s podcast.

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