Steve Cooper backs Jesse Lingard to make more of an impact

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper is backing Jesse Lingard to deliver a big second half of the season, starting with his first return to Manchester United.

Lingard had a poor first half of the season following his surprise free transfer to Forest, but began to show signs of finding some form just before the break.

He registered his first goal and assist in the Carabao Cup win over Tottenham and then added another goal in the victory at Blackburn last week.

The 30-year-old will be desperate to produce as he returns to Old Trafford for the first time following his exit last summer.

And Cooper expects him to start having more impact in games.

“You want to see all your players at their best on game days,” Cooper said. “For sure, if Jesse is at his best, he is a player who can have an impact in any game.

“He definitely feels at home here, you can see that. He’s definitely comfortable with the surroundings.

“He’s an excellent trainer. You can see he loves football. You can see he really cares about doing well. Like all of the boys, you’ve got to try to turn that
into matchdays, where they can make a difference.

“There’s been a bit of a break between him scoring against Spurs and the Blackburn game, but if he can harness those things and take them into future games then everybody will be a winner from that. We will all benefit from that, especially the team and the club.

“That’s the hope. But for sure, with him and everybody else, there is a great will and a great effort going on to commit to training, really take the game plans on board and hopefully delivering when it counts, which is on a matchday.

“If Jesse can do that for us, then great, because of the type of player he is and the position he plays in.”