Manchester United

Jesse Lingard 'growing in confidence' at Manchester United

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 11 August 2016

Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard targets at least 10 goals this coming season after helping his side to two victories at Wembley in the past three months.

Jesse Lingard has admitted that the buzz of playing in front of Manchester United supporters has helped him grow in confidence over the past 12 months.

The 23-year-old heads into the new campaign on a real high after scoring a vital goal for the Red Devils in their 2-1 Community Shield win over Leicester City last weekend.

Lingard, who was also the hero for the Red Devils in their FA Cup final victory over Crystal Palace at the end of last season, is now hoping to hit double figures in 2016-17 to help United to the Premier League title.

"We want to be in the Champions League, of course, but our focus is on the title," he told the club's official website. "My aim is to score over 10 goals and win at least two trophies. That would be a good season!"

Asked about which area of his game has improved the most, the Englishman added: "I think confidence. After a few games, if you're not scoring, your confidence can drop a bit but the players around me were great at helping me keeping that confidence up.

"To be able to come on and make a difference in the FA Cup final was very special. There was always that aura about Old Trafford and playing in front of the fans in a massive stadium, which I used to think about.

"As a younger player, your first few games are always going to be nervy but my confidence grew the more I played there."

Lingard is just the fifth United player to score in more than one game at Wembley in the same year, following in the steps of Norman Whiteside, Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes and Eric Cantona.