McLeish wowed by Lingard transformation at West Ham – ‘That can destroy a footballer’
Jesse Lingard has shown remarkable character to bounce back at West Ham after being a Man United outcast.
That is the view of former Scotland manager Alex McLeish who, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, admitted a lot of players would struggle to return to their best so swiftly.
Lingard, 28, has scored four goals and contributed two assists in his six appearances for the Irons so far.
He did not make a single league or European appearance for Manchester United during the first half of the season.
Instead, he was limited to two League Cup and one FA Cup outing before joining West Ham for the rest of the campaign.
McLeish admitted the situation could have “destroyed” Lingard’s mentality and applauded the loanee for showing his backbone.
McLeish told Football Insider’s Russell Edge: “He’s always been a confident guy, Jesse, playing with England.
“He must have been rattled, his confidence must have been rattled at Man United’s rejection.
“He can probably breathe again with the West Ham move and he’s just got his mojo back.
“Well done son, because that can destroy a lot of footballers mentally, confidence-wise. He’s proved that he’s got a bit of strength in his mentality.”
Lingard has played 210 times across all competitions for Manchester United and made 40 appearances alone last season.
He also has 24 caps under his belt for England, although his last international appearance came back in June 2019.
In other news, West Ham have jetted out on a transfer mission for 24-year-old striker dazzling in the Europa League.