Felt like I wasnât myself while playing last year, admits Jesse Lingard
Jesse Lingard has contributed to 13 goals in 10 games for West Ham
|Jesse Lingard has opened up about his mental health issues and admitted that he considered taking a break from football last year because he didnât feel like himself. The Manchester United attacker is currently on loan at West Ham United and is thriving under Hammersâ boss David Moyes.
Few players have done as well in the second half of the season as Jesse Lingard with the attacker scoring more goals than any player since his move to West Ham. The Hammers have provided the 28-year-old with a new lease on life and it has seen Lingard take it, scoring 9 goals since his loan move in January. Not only that, the Manchester United man is playing a key role as the London side battle for Champions League football but it wasnât always like that.
Lingard had been a regular under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer until last season but the arrival of Bruno Fernandes and a few other pieces saw things change with him struggling for game-time. It saw the 28-year-old admit that he considered taking a break from football because he didnât feel like himself. Lingard also admitted that he often âdidnât want to play because my mind wasnât thereâ and it affected him immensely.
âNot quit football, just have a time out really. I was going into games happy sitting on the bench and thatâs not me. I was telling my brother the other day: âRemember when I was happy sitting on the bench and all this?â I didnât want to play because my mind wasnât there, I wasnât focused at all. I was thinking about other things and obviously bottling it all up; trying to play football, you canât do it,â Lingard said, reported the Guardian.
âThrough the years we had the help for her, but even just for me itâs hard to bottle things up. It feels like youâre not the same person. I felt like I wasnât Jesse Lingard. Even in football matches, I felt like the game was just passing me by, like I just didnât want to be there â it was crazy ⌠So, I opened up to United and told them what I was going through, what my mum was going through and theyâre always there to help.â
