Lingard: We Won't Be Distracted

Jesse Lingard says he and his Manchester United team-mates will not be distracted by all the attention on Upton Park this Tuesday night when West Ham United play their final-ever match at the famous ground.

The Hammers have called the Boleyn Ground home since 1904 but will bid farewell this week ahead of their move to the Olympic Stadium next season.

It’ll be an emotional night for everyone connected to the East London club and, with Louis van Gaal's men capable of overtaking fourth-placed Manchester City with victory, it is a huge fixture for both clubs. Lingard insists the players will be doing everything to ensure the final result ends up being memorable for the Reds, as it was in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-final replay last month.

"These are the games as a player you want to play in, the big-pressure games. We’re ready. We’ve been training hard," he told MUTV.

"Mentally, you’ve got to prepare for that [the attention around Upton Park] and we know there will be a great atmosphere. But we won’t let anything faze us on the day because we have a job to do which is to get the three points."

Lingard has featured in 37 games under van Gaal in his first full season for the senior team this term and become a key part of the squad. While his focus remains on the final three matches, one of which is an FA Cup final, the 23-year-old admits he’s delighted with his “mad” season.

“You think about the season but still we’ve got three games left and that’s what I’m concentrating on," he continued. "But, of course, to be playing over 30 games in my first Premier League season has been mad!

"It’s taken a lot of hard work to get here and it’s now about kicking on and looking ahead to the next two games and the final."