Lingard rues first Wembley loss

Jesse Lingard wants to ensure his next medal with Manchester United is a winner's one after experiencing the pain of being a cup final runner-up for the first time on Saturday evening.

Lingard was the match-winner two seasons ago as the Reds won the FA Cup at Crystal Palace's expense, but this year he and his team-mates were on the losing side in the final against Chelsea.

The Blues won the competition for the eighth time in their history thanks to Eden Hazard’s 22nd-minute penalty, which ultimately proved to be the difference between the sides.

“It’s always going to be hard when you see the other team lifting a trophy,” said Lingard.

“When you have to walk up those stairs and collect the runners-up medal, it’s hard. It’s my first time doing it and hopefully I won’t be doing it again.”

Despite losing the game, United’s number 14 believes the Reds were the better side during the 90 minutes.

“We were dominant in the way we played and we created a lot of chances. Chelsea didn’t create as many chances as us, but the luck just didn’t fall our way today."

Despite the season ending in disappointment, Lingard has enjoyed probably his best campaign in a red shirt on a personal level and he is confident that United will improve next season.

“Each season we’re going to progress,” he said.

“A lot of teams go through transition periods and we’ll progress for next season. We’ll pick ourselves up and go again. We have to reflect on our season and look back on the highs and the lows. We'll look back and see where we can improve and push ourselves to do better next season.”

Lingard now has a week off before he meets up with his England colleagues ahead of the World Cup in Russia.

“It’s my first World Cup," he said. "Obviously I’ll go into it with confidence after the season I’ve had, so hopefully we can do well.”