Jesse Lingard was never really given a chance while Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge at Old Trafford but that doesn't mean the old Manchester United boss didn't rate him.

The English winger has been at the club since the age of seven but has only really made the breakthrough into the senior setup over the last couple of years, initially under Louis van Gaal.

During his development years as a teen, Lingard spent four different loan spells away from United in the Championship with Leicester, Birmingham, Brighton and Derby.

But he never lost faith about what he could achieve in the game throughout his time in the lower divisions and that is partly down to his former manager.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Lingard reveals a conversation he had with Ferguson, where the Scot predicted exactly when he should expect to be in the first team at Old Trafford.

"United had a pathway for me. Sir Alex said, 'Don't worry, 22, 23, that's when you're going to stop growing and start playing' and it happened."

Lingard made his competitive debut for the Red Devils in 2014 but only really became a regular in the team 12 months later, aged 22.

Of course, Fergie got it absolutely spot on.

Lingard's rise might not have been as rapid or meteoric as his teammate Marcus Rashford but he has quietly been continuing his development behind the scenes.

With competition for starting positions on the flanks so fierce under Jose Mourinho this season, the 24-year-old hasn't had as much first-team action as he probably would have liked.

But, just over halfway through the campaign, Lingard has still made 20 appearances and has bagged a couple of goals too.

And the England international also opened up on his manager's methods which have inspired the Red Devils to go on a run of 16 Premier League games without a loss.

Lingard added: "He's driven. Training has more edge to it. Everyone wants to win, which is what it should be like.

"When you lose a training game you're down all day getting wound up by the other team."