Jesse Lingard Questions Manchester United's 'Mentality' Against Smaller Sides

​Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard has challenged his team to improve their mentality when they come up against the Premier League's 'mid-table' sides.

This season, United have picked up 13 points from a possible 15 against Chelsea, Leicester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, but defeats like the recent 2-0 loss against bottom-side Watford have plagued their season.

Marcus Rashford,Kiko Femenia

Consistency has been a real problem for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side this season, and speaking to the ​Daily Mail​Lingard suggested that a sort of arrogance could be to blame for ​United's struggles.

"It's strange," he said. "Maybe it's a mindset thing. Maybe it's our mentality going into the match thinking we've already won the game. If we keep the consistency and mentality we had against ​City and ​Tottenham, I don't see why we can't win every game.

"It seems like our mentality changes. To keep that consistency throughout the rest of the season when we come against the mid-table teams, we need to have the same mentality that we did going into the City and Tottenham game. When we start with energy and on the front foot, we'll cause team problems all day long."


Having won just six of their 18 games this season, United find themselves down in eighth in the ​Premier League, with a seven-point gap between them and the top four.


Thursday's meeting with ​Newcastle United - who earned a 1-0 win over Solskjaer's side in October - will give them the chance to climb further up the table, although it is the kind of game with which United have struggled this year.


Lingard will hope to have a huge impact on the game. Solskjaer has shifted the Englishman into more of a forward role in recent weeks, and even though he is yet to score in the league, his impact has been incredibly positive for United.

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"I feel I've got my form back now and I'm back to my old self," he added. "Obviously form is going to be up and down. When you're in a bad patch you've just got to fight through it, listen to the manager and the coaches, work hard on the training pitch and give 110 per cent. I've done that and I feel really sharp.

"I always like to make an impact – goal and assists or work-rate and helping the team. I thoroughly enjoy doing that.

"Since I was young I've always been fit and like to stay sharp and be a box-to-box player. For me to play in that number ten role you have to run, attack and defend. If you constantly do that for 90 minutes, of course, you're going to get tired, but if you can do it consistently it helps the team."


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Source : 90min