Jesse Lingard has taken a dig at Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, claiming he 'wasn't given a chance' before being sent on loan to West Ham United.
The West Ham loanee was completely out of form last season for United and scored just five goals in all competitions from January 2019 until January 2021.
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His lack of form meant that he found himself out of the team for much of last season, especially when football returned in June following the break due to the pandemic.
Lingard had even less football at the beginning of this season and was used in just three matches, two in the Carabao Cup and one in the FA Cup, before leaving in the January transfer window.
Now the 28-year-old, who scored twice on Hammers debut against Aston Villa, has hit out at Solskjaer for not giving him more of a chance.
"At this age, it's all about regular football and showing people what you can do," he told BT Sport, via Daily Mail, ahead of West Ham's game with Sheffield United on Monday night.
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"First and foremost I'm here to play, win and help the team, so hopefully I can do that and we'll see where we're at come the end of the season. But it's about playing with a smile on my face and enjoying my football and getting back to the old Jesse.
"Football is a lot of ups and downs, people go through different stages and it's not just a straight road to the top. There are a lot of setbacks which most people don't see and a lot of things that go on behind closed doors.
"During the lockdown I recapped my best moments playing football - the season under Jose [Mourinho] where I scored all of those goals and went to the World Cup and the season when Ole came in and I started well.
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"So I started recapping a lot of games to see where I did well, getting that fire in my belly and drive again to go and kick on because it would have been easy for me to fall off and take the easy option out. But a person like me who's been through a lot and knows the game, I can't just give it up like and I'll always go out with a fight.
"I came back one of the strongest and fittest [at United] after the [first] lockdown and I didn't get my chance that I was waiting on but the whole time I was there and not playing I was doing extra training and keeping on top of my fitness for when the time was right.
"So for me it's about working hard and staying dedicated and I went back to basics."
Solskjaer was extremely positive about the England international, following the confirmation of his loan deal just before transfer deadline day, saying, "We want Jesse to come back here revitalised and having shown at West Ham how good a player he is, of course.
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"He's just been unfortunate with a couple of issues - some periods that he had to stay away from us with the Covid and isolation, with the close contact.
"The rest of the team has done well. We've had little to no injuries and he's not forced his way into the team, unfortunately.
"I just want him to go there and enjoy himself, show how good a player he is and come back. He a Man United player through and through."
Whether Lingard and Solskjaer are reunited at Old Trafford remains to be seen.
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