NO CUT-PRICE FOXES IF BREN FALLS SHORT Back to SOMETIMES ALL YOU NEED IS A LITTLE BIT OF FAITH – AND TO PLAY REGULARLY
Lingard
BRENDAN RODGERS will not have to dismantle his Leicester squad if the club fail to reach the Champions League. The Foxes boss has done a superb job over the last two seasons as they have elbowed their way among the elite. But after posting a £67million loss in their accounts and having taken out borrowings to finish their £95m training facility, cash may well be an issue.
The position is not helped either by the club’s owners King Power – who derive their income
JESSE LINGARD says he was determined to prove the doubters wrong when he joined West Ham.
The 28-year-old moved to East London on loan from Manchester United at the end of the January transfer window.
He had become a peripheral figure under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s leadership at Old Trafford, with not a single Premier League appearance to his name during the first half of the season.
But since heading south, from duty free sales in Thailand – being hit by the drop in travel.
But Rodgers insists the likes of Youri Tielemans, James Maddison and Harvey Barnes won’t be heading to the exit if they don’t hit the top four – although he cannot rule out an attractive offer turning the club’s head.
He said: “Like most clubs, there will be a lot of debt due to the pandemic.
“If you reach the Champions League, it fills a gap in the finances.
“Of course, players would love to play there – but I don’t think we will lose players if we don’t.
“We have a great benefactor – their ambition is for the club to move forward.”
Lingard has been a revelation at the London Stadium.
He has bagged six goals in eight top-flight fixtures, with David Moyes’ Hammers pushing for an unlikely top-four finish.
Lingard insists that he never lost belief in his own ability during his spell on the sidelines.
“People were thinking: ‘What type of player are we going to get? He’s not played in two years, he’s not scored goals, not assisted, we don’t know what we’re going to get,’” said the versatile attacker.
“And I could understand that because I’ve not played in a long time. “But behind the scenes I was working hard.
“I was always ready to play no matter what.
“It’s with confidence and playing regular football that you get the best out of me.”
In his eight appearances for West Ham, Lingard has already bagged a goal-of-the-season contender. In Monday’s 3-2 win over Wolves, Warrington-born scored the fi opener after pick the ball in his ow and going on a solo run.
“It was a gre from Michail A to take one defenders said Lingard. “And then me one-o with a de
the n ace first-half king up wn half a mazy
eat run Antonio of the away,” . n it was n-one efender and I had to sidestep him. Then it was down to the keeper.
“Over the years I’ve lacked a bit of composure in front of goal and it’s something I’ve been working on in training.
“Running at high speed and trying to finish.”
The highest West Ham have ever finished in the Premier League was fifth place in the 1998-99 season.
However, they did manage a third-place finish in the league in 1985-86 – their highest ever in the top division – and can move within a point of third-placed Leicester if they beat them in today’s clash at the London Stadium.
Lingard, who is looking to ensure he books his place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad this summer, says he’s keeping his eye on the prize as the campaign draws to a close.
“There’s still eight games left and there are going to be highs and lows before the end of the season,” he said.
“We might lose games three or four nil but it’s about how you cope with that and move on.
“The confidence that we’ve got, we believe we can win any game.
“Europe and England are always in the back of your mind, but like I say to everyone, step by step, take it slow.
“Don’t think too far ahead into the future and take it week by week, game by game and we’ll see where we end up at the end of the season.”
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