Jesse Lingard claims he wasn't given the chance to impress at Manchester United

Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard has claimed he was not given the chance to prove himself at Old Trafford this season.

Lingard was a regular in the early days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure at the club but slowly began to slip down the pecking order. He managed just 41 Premier League minutes after lockdown last year and didn't feature at all this time around, eventually being allowed to leave on loan to West Ham in January.

He has hit the ground running under David Moyes, bagging two goals on his debut and winning a penalty in Monday's 3-0 win over Sheffield United, before which Lingard claimed his time on the fringes at United only spurred him on more.

“During the lockdown I recapped my best moments playing football – the season under Jose (Mourinho) where I scored all of those goals and went to the World Cup and the season when Ole came in and I started well," he told BT Sport.

“So I started recapping a lot of games to see where I did well, getting that fire in my belly and drive again to go and kick on because it would have been easy for me to fall off and take the easy option out. But a person like me who's been through a lot and knows the game, I can't just give it up and I'll always go out with a fight.

“I came back one of the strongest and fittest after the lockdown and I didn't get my chance that I was waiting on, but the whole time I was there and not playing I was doing extra training and keeping on top of my fitness for when the time was right. So for me it's about working hard and staying dedicated and I went back to basics.”

Under contract at United until 2022, Lingard may have a lot on his plate this summer. A potential exit from Old Trafford could be on the cards, while he will harbour hopes of forcing his way back into the England setup for the delayed European Championships. Despite of all that, the 28-year-old insists he simply wants to play football.

“At this age, it's all about regular football and showing people what you can do," he said. “First and foremost I'm here to play, win and help the team, so hopefully I can do that and we'll see where we're at come the end of the season.

"But it's about playing with a smile on my face and enjoying my football and getting back to the old Jesse.

“Football is a lot of ups and downs, people go through different stages and it's not just a straight road to the top. There are a lot of setbacks which most people don't see and a lot of things that go on behind closed doors."

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