Jesse Lingard admits he and his Manchester United teammates are guilty of lacking the correct focus heading into matches against the Premier League’s less glamorous sides.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team looked to have turned a significant corner following back-to-back victories against Tottenham and Manchester City, but the momentum built by those wins has quickly been squandered.
United were held at home by a then managerless Everton a fortnight ago, before they became the first team to lose at Premier League game at Watford this season when they slipped to a 2-0 defeat last Sunday.
And Lingard, who was guilty of a shocking miss at Vicarage Road when the game was still goalless, fears United are only capable of raising themselves for the glamour fixtures.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s strange. Maybe it’s a mindset thing. Maybe it’s our mentality going into the match thinking we’ve already won the game.
What a chance ?
Jesse Lingard races through on goal but his chip sails over!
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‘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.’
Lingard recently won his place back in the team following one of the most difficult spells of his career, during his form was understandably adversely affected by health issues affecting his mother.
The 27-year-old now feels he is on the verge of returning to his best form and insists it won’t be long until he is delivering goals and assists on a regular basis.
He added: ‘I feel I’ve got my form back now and I’m back to my old self. 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 No 10 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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