Pride & Patience For Lingard

Saturday 16 August 2014. Manchester United versus Swansea City at Old Trafford. Louis van Gaal’s opening competitive match as Manchester United manager and Jesse Lingard’s debut.

Lingard, at 21, finally had the chance he'd always craved as a schoolboy growing up at the club. His big moment lasted just 24 minutes though after stretching to challenge Swans skipper Ashley Williams in midfield. The Wales international is an opponent who epitomises the physical nature of the Barclays Premier League. Just the sort of Herculean warrior that the Academy staff had in mind when preaching a need for patience with the coltish Lingard, when playing him in younger age groups to offer protection as he developed.

The subsequent knee-ligament injury left his season in tatters on that August afternoon before 18 of the 20 top-flight clubs had even got their campaigns under way. “I think it was my fault,” he told ManUtd.com. “I dived in. I was excited and it was a new step for me. But all the physios have been absolute quality with me. It was kind of a stressful time for me as well, being out for a long time. It was probably the first injury I’d had that had kept me out for that sort of period of time but all my family and all my friends supported me and, like I said, the physios were great with me.”

The maiden start had been a long time coming. Lingard was on the bench during Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign, but did not get on in the Capital One Cup tie with Crystal Palace. David Moyes named him as a substitute against Swansea in January 2014. Tantalisingly close to that first competitive appearance, he had seen other members of the outstanding 2011 FA Youth Cup-winning side get their opportunity but had to wait for his.

“Sir Alex said when I was 22-23 years old, I’d be playing in the first team and it’s happened,” he laughed. “He definitely knows what he is talking about! He’s an experienced man so I listened to him!” Despite such sage advice from one of the game’s true legends, the fact this step into the limelight has happened so slowly means patience has always had to be one of his biggest virtues.

“All the staff knew they had to be patient with me from a young age as I wasn’t developing as quickly as the other players,” he recalled. “So you respect that and I had to be patient waiting for my chance. Now, with the manager, he has put his faith in me.”

The ‘p’ word featured extensively in discussion with United’s exciting homegrown product, who took the game to CSKA Moscow on Tuesday in only his second Champions League outing and set up the winner for Wayne Rooney to the relief of Reds fans everywhere. Van Gaal, who had predicted before handing the wide midfielder a place in his starting line-up in the earlier clash in the Russian capital that this could be Lingard’s time, praised his latest performance. The fans agreed, voting him Man of the Match.

Having climbed the veritable mountain to get into the side last year, and suffered such a numbing setback when leaving the stadium on crutches, the progress is testament to the character of the Warrington-born prospect. The fact he remains so level-headed and conscientious also owes much to those around him, including the coaching staff who recognised he needed to appreciate time would always be on his side.

Nevertheless, this was a two-way street for the England Under-21 international. Inevitably, his displays during loan spells away from United at Leicester City, Birmingham City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Derby County alerted a string of suitors. There has always been talk, murmurings in the gossip columns, that he could be lured away with the promise of regular first-team football. Yet Jesse remained adamant his goal was to make it with his boyhood idols.

“I’ve always stuck by United because everyone stuck by me,” he said. “To be playing for the club now, especially in the past week, which has been a pretty mad week for me and my family, everyone is so proud and it’s good to be able to repay them. I could have left a long time ago but I had to be patient. I hoped the boss would give me a chance and it’s just a matter of taking the chance.”

Lingard is doing precisely that. He hit the woodwork in the Manchester derby, when he would have been the toast of the red half of the town had his instinctive shot been an inch or two lower, and did likewise in the Capital One Cup tie with Middlesbrough. An assured second-half display at Everton had already justified the manager’s faith and, of course, the fearlessly positive midweek showing against CSKA was a joy to behold. “After coming back off tour in the summer, I felt much stronger and fitter going into the new season,” he said. “As soon as I came on at Everton, I felt comfortable. The lads around me supported me and gave me advice and help so that I knew what I had to do on the day.”

One feature of the display at Goodison Park, as the Reds secured an excellent 3-0 win, was his defensive responsibility, making one goal-saving interception to deny Ross Barkley at the far post. It was no accident he was in the right place at the right time, more a by-product of his upbringing at United and all the hours spent on the training ground at the Aon Training Complex.

“I think I learned that in the Reserves with Warren [Joyce],” reveals Lingard. “He always saying: ‘Track back, track back’ and shouting at us on the pitch. It stuck with me. Even when I was out on loan, I was doing it. The manager likes your defensive work as well as going forward so this puts me in a good position when I’m on the right, knowing I can get up and down the pitch. All the hard work pays off in the end.”

There is so much talk about English talent coming through the Academies, most of it negative, and it will not be lost on some people that Lingard is rare in being a homegrown Englishman impressing in the Champions League. Hence, the winger is a shining light and perfect role model for schoolboys, even if he needs some convincing this is the case. His advice to them is predictable: “There are a lot of homegrown players coming through the ranks and I tell them to be patient and wait for their chance. That is really the main seed I’ve got to plant in their heads.

“[Am I a role model?] I guess a little bit. You can see the path for others to follow and do what I’ve done. It’s that patience really. Obviously, you know you have to go on loan to get that experience so, once you come back, you can be ready for first-team football.”

If it is difficult enough to make the breakthrough into the first team then it is surely even harder to remain there. The manager always stresses the quality of the competition facing his youngsters when they bid to make their mark on the team. Yet it is not an insurmountable problem. Another factor in Lingard’s favour as he strives to impress van Gaal is his attitude.

Ask him about his immediate ambitions and he makes no demands about usurping experienced internationals in the pecking order or a desire to rapidly make up for any lost time. “I want to keep being in and around the bench and coming on, hopefully even starting games,” he said. “That is my main aim now.

“It definitely gives us a lot of confidence to be playing for Manchester United as a youngster, and, as long as you keep working, you are always going to get your chance. Obviously, I’ve still got to be humble and keep my feet on the ground. I’ve not made it yet. There is a long way to go and I’ve still got to work hard on the training pitch to keep my place in the team.”

Jesse Lingard is a credit to himself and Manchester United. His progress to this point, starring in a Champions League tie under the floodlights at Old Trafford, is down to so many people and an inordinate amount of time invested away from the limelight and the glare of thousands of expectant supporters. Patience may be the key word here but there is another that is at the forefront of the mind with his story. As he touched upon, it’s pride and that’s something the United fans who backed him on Tuesday will also be feeling in abundance at seeing him grasp his opportunity.