HETHO ‘STAY OFF FRONT PAGES’
And that is quite appropriate, as the Manchester United winger insists he will keep smiling and enjoying life – despite being criticised for his modern, social media-driven lifestyle.
Lingard, though, insists he is deadly serious when it comes to representing England and United.
He hopes to get on the Wembley pitch today against Lithuania, the venue at which he scored United’s FA Cup winner against Crystal Palace last season.
Lingard wants to be part of a bright future for the Three Lions after last year’s Euros ended in humiliation against Iceland.
On the new-look England, he said: “I think from now we start from scratch. We’ve got a young squad, a young manager in Gareth Southgate and he showed us a video of the past – the failures and all that.
“But for us now as a young group, we’ve got to pull together.
“We’ve got to make the most of it. We played against Spain, we competed against Germany, we beat France.
“So we are up there now. And when it comes to a tournament, we will be right on it.
“I t hink with the talent we have got in the squad, as well as some of the experienced pros as well, coming together I think we can do damage in the game.
“When you look at those games against Spain, Germany and France, we can compete at the top level.
“And for me, it’s not about looking at the past. It’s the future generation and we’ve got to look forward.”
Lingard, 23, has been under- fire for his video of United players lying on the floor of the team coach wh e n it was attacked at West Ham last season.
And for his goal GARETH SOUTHGATE has told his England players he wants to read about them on the back page of newspapers – not the front. It is the England boss’ way of making it clear he does not want bad behaviour OFF the pitch generating negative, embarrassing headlines. But at the same time, he is prepared to allow players on international duty to decide how they unwind when they have time off. He’ll treat them as adults, as long as they do not do anything to affect their performances in a negative way. Southgate (right) said: “They have to have time to relax, unwind and have downtime. If you’re at your club, you train and go home and you can switch off.
“In the international environment, it is different, so you have to have time to clear your head.
“But what they do and how they do that is a good discussion to have, as what they can’t have is the possibility of anything that will affect their performance.
“That is going to put pressure on them by being at the other end of the newspaper to the sport.
“My job as coach is to try to relieve that pressure, so we don’t want to put extra pressure on ourselves with things that can be avoided.”
PAUL HETHERINGTON FOOTBALL scouts are divided on the value of Celtic striker Moussa Dembele. The French forward, 20, has rocketed into the £30million bracket in the Hoops’ view. But some top judges reckon a more accurate figure would be £15m, as he is still a player of potential rather than the finished article. Man United and Chelsea are among the clubs deciding whether to make an offer for 32-goal Dembele – and how much.