Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard believes that the Old Trafford faithful are protective of homegrown players coming out of the academy.

The Red Devils have a rich history of promoting youth players from their system and have the record of naming at least one player from their academy in the playing eleven since 1937.




Lingard has the opportunity to carry forward the tradition of the club and admits that as a young player he gets all kinds of support from Manchester United, as well as the fans.

He admits that with players such as Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley coming through in the past, confidence was given to players such as him, who were working hard in the academy.
 


Lingard also revealed that the Manchester United fans are protective about their own and are ready to forgive mistakes from players who have graduated from the academy.

relatedNewsStory

The 22-year-old told UEFA: “The fans want to see homegrown players come through.

“To see the likes of Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverly come though gave me confidence that I can do it as well.

“When you step on the pitch the fans are behind you straight away; even if you make a mistake, they are still there.

“I have always been a Red throughout my career and it’s an unbelievable thing to finally to do it for the first team.”

Louis van Gaal has already promoted a number of youngsters this season and has been keen to provide more opportunities to the academy players.