Jesse Lingard admits to having experienced plenty of lows during his time at Manchester United, with transfer talk surfacing again, but believes in the long-term vision being shown at Old Trafford.
The 27-year-old came through the academy to feature in the first team. Having been patient in pursuit of a senior breakthrough with the Red Devils, England international Lingard has now played over 200 games for the club.
There have been several highs across those outings for club and country, but questions of his value to any given cause are never too far away. That has led to exit rumours emerging ahead of the next window, with it suggested that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may decide to move the midfielder on as United head in a different direction.
Lingard has, however, grown accustomed to the criticism aimed in his direction and has learned how to steer clear of it and retain a positive outlook.
He told United’s official website: “The main thing is to concentrate on the game, to get the win. That’s the most important thing. I just think of all the lows that I’ve had, I’m here now, coming onto the pitch and doing what I love doing best.
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“I love playing football and I’m at Man United, so you try and be positive in that aspect and your family are there watching. You’ve just got to go out there and enjoy it, take the positives.”
Optimism has returned to the United camp over recent months, with Solskjaer steering his side back into contention for a top-four finish and major silverware.
Lingard hopes the Red Devils can deliver on the promise they have shown, with expectation levels at the 13-time Premier League champions having never dipped despite recent struggles on the field.
He added: “I think when I was coming through, the history of the club stuck out a lot to me.
“The amount of trophies that had been won over the years was so inspiring. As a young lad coming through at that time, you can see the success, you know it’s there and you can’t wait to work hard to get into their shoes and be winning trophies as well.
“We go through different stages of life where things change, managers come in and life transitions but as a club we have that backing behind us. We do have that never-say-die attitude. We have that hunger to win.”