Jesse Lingard has insisted stories of FC Seoul supervisor Kim Gi-dong’s criticism of him have been exaggerated.
The previous Manchester United and Nottingham Forest midfielder made the transfer to South Korea in February however remains to be with out a aim or an help after three appearances for his new membership, and his underwhelming begin to life on the membership introduced some fierce criticism from Kim.
“I have been considering rather a lot about eradicating Jesse [from the team],” Kim mentioned. “If a participant who solely performs for a couple of minutes would not go in and exhibit, battle and run in addition to gamers who play for 90 minutes, I do not assume he’s a soccer participant.
“His identify has no worth on the pitch, and I’ll inform him that precisely.”
Unsurprisingly, the feedback brought on fairly a stir when picked up by the English media, however each Kim and Lingard have since performed down the severity of the message.
“I believe it was slightly exaggerated within the media,” Lingard mentioned in response. “That is a part of soccer, too.
“I returned to coaching and had a radical dialog with the supervisor, and now I am specializing in the following recreation.”
Kim revealed: “As quickly as he noticed me, he did not say good day however as a substitute gave me a hug. I mentioned: ‘You’re a particular participant and you must tackle the function of a pacesetter, and in that regard, I did that interview’.”
Lingard is at the moment nursing a knee damage however will hope to show the tide for Seoul as quickly as attainable.
“I believe the whole lot depends upon me,” he concluded. “I am making ready by pushing myself tougher to point out what the coach desires on the pitch.”