Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard has endured a difficult 2019/20 season, both on and off the field.- He scored only one
Premier League goal all season, and that was on the final day. - The 27-year-old recently spoke to Insider about how he is back in a "good place" and aiming to reinvigorate his Old Trafford career.
- He also spoke about leaning on his experiences with Paul Scholes, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Wayne Rooney in order to try and be a role model for United's younger players.
- On Ibrahimovic's time at the club, Lingard said: "He brought that winning feeling and it kind of spread around the dressing room. Everyone learned from him."
When Jesse Lingard scored against Leicester City with what was practically the last kick of the 2019/20 English Premier League season, the relief in his face was there for all to see.
Not only was it the Manchester United midfielder's first top flight goal since December 2018, it was also a positive ending to what has been an overwhelmingly negative year, both on and off the field.
"This season has been difficult for so many reasons," Lingard wrote in an emotional Instagram post following the goal. "I lost who I was as a player and person."
Speaking on the Sound Of Support podcast, which aims to tackle stigmas around mental health, shortly after, Lingard revealed his mother had been going through depression, and that he was left to care for his brother, 12 and sister, 15.
"I was still performing at the same time," he said. "You just get to that point where you're like, 'I've got to actually say something here.'"
"Feeling down and glum" and "constantly worrying" – the impact of Lingard's situation at home took a heavy toll at work.
After starting the first three games of the season, Lingard was demoted the bench for fourth, and subsequently left out of the squad for three of the club's next five games. A run of game time between October and December followed, however after coming under criticism for his performances and failing to register a single goal or assist, he was once again dropped.
Between January 11 and when the league was suspended on March 13, the 27-year-old managed just 23 minutes of Premier League football.
Lockdown, however, proved to be productive for Lingard
"I wanted to go back into training one of the fittest and feel good overall," Lingard told Insider in late July, prior to the end of the season. "I'm in a really good place.
"I think like the first day [of lockdown], I still did a 5km, then the next day I was in the gym. I just wanted to keep fit and feel good, so I started doing that. Then I had Zoom sessions with some friends, who are obviously non-athletes, and we were doing that Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
"That was just one of the workouts I put together, and we did that for nearly 10-12 weeks."
"I wanted to go back into training one of the fittest and feel good overall. I'm in a really good place.
With regards to practicing with a ball, Lingard added that he was going down a local football club, Whalley Range AFC, where he was able you use their facilities, albeit sometimes under the beady eyes of onlooking fans.
"It was just the first few weeks where we weren't allowed out. But when we got our schedules from the club, we finally got out to a pitch and started playing a bit of football and doing more intense work rather than just a run.
"They have like two pitches, but it's surrounded by houses, so you know, a few of the people in the houses were watching a few times!"
A man of many passions, Lingard also used the time before the Premier League's return to channel his efforts into his commercial and charitable ventures.
In early April, he partook in a FIFA 20 tournament with rapper Aitch and comedian Michael Dappah, which attracted over 100,000 viewers and raised over $15,000 (£12,000) for England's National Health Service (NHS).
He also launched his own "JLingz" face masks, from which the profits also went to the NHS, and became a global brand ambassador for American Pistachios.
"It was just a thank you for all the hard work that the NHS do, it doesn't go unnoticed," Lingard said to Insider when asked about his face mask initiative.
"Last year, I kind of took a step back [from fashion], but it seemed like a good time for me to get back into it with the masks, because obviously they were mandatory on public transport, and all the money was going to the NHS.
"There were quite a few things that kept me busy during lockdown commercially which was good, and most of it was the NHS so that was really good."
That doesn't mean there was no time for a little relaxation in the form of Netflix, however, in particular ESPN's 10-part Michael Jordan documentary "The Last Dance."
"The Last Dance was a very very good series," Lingard, a self-confessed Toronto Raptors fan, said. "The [Dennis] Rodman episode was very interesting. It was just mad to see the
"I've been a big fan of the NBA for a long time. When they next come to London I'll be there for sure."
United's or Lingard's season isn't over yet though
Though United and Lingard finished the Premier League season in style with a 2-0 win at Leicester City to secure a promising third placed finish – the Red Devils still have the Europa League to see out.
Solskjaer's men are through the competitions quarter finals after defeating Austrian outfit LASK on Wednesday night, a game in which Lingard scored. United won 2-1 on the night, and 7-1 on aggregate.
Go all the way to the competition's final on August 21, and United will have just a three week break to prepare for the start of the 2020/21 Premier League season, which kicks off on September 12.
"It will be strange," Lingard said when asked about the crammed fixture list. "We are looking forward to it though. We just want to play football.
"Maybe fatigue will take its toll towards the end of next season, but that means we've got to eat right, sleep right, and recover right. and do all the right things that an elite athlete should do. We've got to do our part too to remain fit and healthy."
He added: "It's just really good to be back. We are back as a family again, we're back as one, and we're all trying to reach the same goal, which is important."
In that family, which is filled with some of the most exciting young talent in English football, including 18-year-old striking sensation Mason Greenwood, Lingard says he is aiming to be a role model for his younger siblings.
"We have a good mix of youth and experience," he said. "I remember coming through the ranks when we had the likes of Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney there with all their experience, and me being a little bit younger.
"When you're younger you always get it drilled into you about remaining humble at the club, and respecting your principles. It's the biggest club in the world and you're always going to be looked at by different people and you've got the set an example and be a role model.
"You try and be a role model for everyone who comes through the ranks and the next generation."
Fortunately, Lingard learned from the best
"When I was younger, I trained with the first team, and obviously Scholesy, Giggsy, Vida [Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nemanja Vidic]," he said.
"I was training with them lot at that time and each and every one of them, you could talk to them and they would give you advice along the way. Especially when I started playing, we had [Bastian] Schweinsteiger. Quality player and off the pitch, a very good lad.
"I had to the likes of Ibra [Zlatan Ibrahimovic] too, who bought that winning mentality to team which was different, and of course, like I said, Rooney and Carrick. I've had people there along the way to look after us when the chips are down and bring us through games. You only gain experience and learn things from players like that."
Asked further about Ibrahimovic, who scored 27 goals to guide United to a treble of trophies in his only full season at Old Trafford in 2016/17, Lingard said: "He's a character. Proper character.
"He has that aura about him. He's always having banter and joking around, but when he's on the pitch, he means serious business, he's there to win.
"He brought that winning feeling and it kind of spread around the dressing room and we went on to win many trophies when he was here so, everyone learned from him."
The best of the bunch, however? Lingard says it was Paul Scholes.
"There are many many players I've played with over the years," he said. "But when I was coming through the ranks and went on trial with the first team with Sir Alex Ferguson, playing with Scholesy. He was a quality player. I looked up to him when I was coming through the ranks, and then to actually play with him was something special.
He was a quality player. I looked up to him when I was coming through the ranks, and then to actually play with him was something special.
"He always found pockets of space, he had time on the ball, and his decision making was really good."
Like Scholes, who retired in 2013, Lingard joined Manchester United as a youngster and was initially called into the first team by Ferguson aged just 19.
While Scholes went on to become one of the club's greatest ever players, making 718 appearances and winning 11 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues, however, Lingard's legacy at Old Trafford is so far very different – a extremely promising youngster, hampered in recent times by personal problems, who has never really cemented himself as the star he could have been.
That being said, at just 27 and in a "good place" – there is still time for him to really make his mark.
"This team, this club is my family," Lingard said on Instagram. "And I will continue to keep working harder than ever to help this team achieve its goals."
After Insider spoke to Lingard, Scholes had some less than complimentary words about the current United star. Speaking after the win over LASK on Wednesday, Scholes questioned whether Lingard has a long term future in Manchester.
"Lately he hasn't been good enough really. Is he a starting XI player if you're going to go on to win the league and the big trophies at Man United? I'm not sure he is," Scholes told BT Sport after the game.
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