Lingard In Confident Mood After Special 2016

Manchester United attacker Jesse Lingard says 2016 will always be a special year for him after a number of team and personal highlights.

The 24-year-old sat down with MUTV to look ahead to the festive period, but he also took time to reflect on a memorable 12 months in the first team.

The stand-out moment, of course, was Lingard’s stunning FA Cup final winner against Crystal Palace in May. He followed that up with another Wembley goal, this time in the FA Community Shield triumph over Premier League champions Leicester City in August, before winning his first senior England cap.

“I feel I’ve had a good year,” Jesse told MUTV. “There have been a lot of ups - the FA Cup, getting into the England squad… I’ve achieved a lot of things and it’s put me in good stead for 2017.

"I’m always going to look back on the good times from this year and I know there are good times ahead. I want to pick up as many trophies as I can. I got two this year and hopefully I can pick up a few more."

Lingard is pleased with the progress he has made and, after a recent run of positive results for the Reds, he hopes 2017 can be just as memorable, if not more.

“If the lads stick together and win the games we should be winning then I don’t see why we can’t be in a good position in May and challenging for the title,” he continued.

“We’ve found our match rhythm now. A lot of players are playing their part and helping us win games. I think the defence has been very good for us, particularly over the last three or four games. We need to keep that going over the Christmas period and if we can do that it will put us in a good place in January.”