Lingard says he never got “his chance" at Man Utd under Solskjaer.

Manchester United attacking midfielder Jesse Lingard was loaned out by the Red Devils to West Ham in January, and he has enjoyed an impressive start to life at the East End so far.

Lingard believes he was not given a chance to impress at Old Trafford. [Getty]

England international Jesse Lingard insists that he "didn't get his chance" under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the 2019-20 campaign resumed last year.

The 28-year-old secured a loan move from Manchester United to East London club West Ham United in the winter transfer window and has so far enjoyed a brilliant start to life under David Moyes, scoring a brace in his Hammers debut.

Lingard now has the chance to revive his career with the Irons and is tipped to keep his spot in their starting XI when they host basement side Sheffield United on Monday evening.

While speaking to BT Sport, Lingard admitted that the lockdown allowed him to think about his playing career and it was also a chance to keep working hard on his craft.

He said: "First and foremost I'm here to play, win and help the team, so hopefully I can do that and we'll see where we're at, come the end of the season.

"It's about playing with a smile on my face and enjoying my football and getting back to the old Jesse.

"During the lockdown, I recapped my best moments playing football – the season under Jose [Mourinho] where I scored all of those goals and went to the World Cup and the season when Ole came in and I started well.

"I started getting that fire in my belly and drive again to go and kick on because it would have been easy for me to fall off and take the easy option out, but a person like me who's been through a lot and knows the game, I can't just give it up like and I'll always go out with a fight.

"I came back one of the strongest and fittest (in the Man Utd squad) after the lockdown and I didn't get my chance that I was waiting on but the whole time I was there and not playing I was doing extra training and keeping on top of my fitness for when the time was right.

"So for me, it's about working hard and staying dedicated and I went back to basics."

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