Neville: Lingard has done well for Mourinho

Cape Town - Gary Neville has leapt to the defence of Jesse Lingard after the midfielder received stick from Manchester United supporters, upon signing a new lucrative deal.

Despite scoring in FA Cup and EFL Cup finals for the Red Devils, fans were left furious after Lingard secured a weekly wage of £100,000 - claiming the England international had not contributed enough since breaking into the first team.

But Neville, a former captain of the Premier League giants, claims Lingard's off-the-ball attributes are imperative to the club's future success, and is often overlooked due to the the flair and style of former wingers in the club's illustrious history.

"Criticism of him is unjustified. He's done well and scored in two Cup finals for United," Neville was quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

"He's done a very good job for Jose Mourinho, for United, gives his all in every single game. He loves the club, so I think that ultimately, it's a deserved contract."

With the likes of Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Wayne Rooney turning out for United through the years, Neville acknowledged that the club's fans may have been a little spoilt.

"I think maybe the fans' frustration some sort is the fact that they want to see a Ronaldo or a Giggs all the time.

"You always need players like Jesse to support those types of players like Park [Ji Sung] because they balance off the talented players, do the work and fill in gaps."