THREE LIONS' HERO
Meet the tough grandad behind England’s Panama hero Jesse Lingard who has never forgotten his roots
IT may have been Harry Kane who captured England’s pride and joy with his hat-trick, but it was the smallest man on the pitch who won the heart of a nation.
Jesse Lingard overcame being smashed in the face and roughed up by Panama’s players to score the goal of the game.
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And his inner toughness is all down to his grandad Ken, a 79-year-old GB powerlifter who believed against all the odds that the lad with sparrow-thin legs had what it takes to become a great footballer.
Despite now living in a £2.8million Cheshire mansion and earning £100,000 a week, the 25-year-old star, who scored the blistering third goal against Panama on Sunday, has never forgotten his roots.
Most days, Jesse leaves his team Manchester United’s training ground and heads to the outskirts of Warrington, where he parks his matt black Bentley outside his maternal grandparents’ modest bungalow.
He and Ken will then chat and play with the family’s terrier while his nan, Pam, puts the kettle on. The couple are so proud they have the player’s No7 England shirt hanging in the window of their living room.
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Jesse is so close to his family that he keeps a photo of his former gymnast mum Kirsty on the wall of his room in the England camp in Russia. He also regularly visits younger siblings Jasper and Daisy Boo.
Jesse, who is named after his great-grandmother, loves these visits to his old home town.
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He once said: “It’s like I’m a young boy again, still getting advice. I like that. It’s good.
“Family is so important. You only get one and you have to make the most of them.”
Jesse’s paternal grandparents, Isolyn and Cyril George, are from the Caribbean island of St Vincents. Dad Roy George was born in England.
His parents split not long after he was born but he stays in touch with his father, who used to play semi-professional football and drilled him for pre-season training.
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England fans in wild celebrations as they score six goals against Panama at World Cup 2018
Ken watched as his tiny grandson went to Beamont Primary school in Warrington, where most kids dreamed of being rugby league stars.
But he was determined that Jesse should be a footballer.
Jesse has said: “We played rugby and I was decent — a winger. But even at primary school, grandad would drive past the playground and tell me to stop. He thought I would get hurt.”
Instead, Ken had young Jesse out every night on the astroturf at nearby Whitecross Community Centre, honing his football skills.
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Ron Jamieson, secretary of Fletcher Moss Rangers, the south Manchester youth team where Jesse played briefly, said: “He was only a dot when he turned up.
“He was five years old but he looked more like he was four. We did a warm-up and he was doing step-overs, Cruyff turns, the lot.”
By the time he turned seven, Ken was driving Jesse up and down the M62 as he played games for United and Liverpool youth teams.
But during a game for Liverpool when no one passed a ball to him, Jesse decided to sign up for United’s famous academy.
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England hero Jesse Lingard does kick-ups with socks on the bench after his wonder goal against Panama at World Cup 2018
Once he started training with United, Jesse made an immediate impression, despite being so small and speaking barely above a whisper.
It was here he learned bravery, how to score spectacular goals, and his distinctive goal celebrations. He also learned to cope with failure.
Ken was once banned from his grandson’s matches for two months after Jesse’s team lost at Stoke.
The star recalled: “He started telling all the kids they’d been terrible but we were only nine. The club told him to stay away for a while.”
It is just hard work and dedication with me
Jesse Lingard
Jesse was just 11 when he met Cristiano Ronaldo while his hero was making a video of footballing skills.
A year later he moved to Old Trafford and lived in digs while mum Kirsty would telephone most days in tears insisting he stuck to his schoolwork rather than just play football. He ended up with 13 GCSEs.
On the field he was simply too small and was often made to play in teams with kids who were much younger than himself.
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But United’s legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson was watching and he believed Jesse had what it takes.
“Sir Alex said, ‘Don’t worry — 22, 23, that’s when you’re going to stop growing and start playing’ and it happened.
“He understood I was a late developer. I put my trust in him and it paid off. I can only thank him.”
Success, Jesse said “comes down to how grounded you are, how much you are willing to give. I was never out with my friends. It’s just hard work and dedication with me.”
One close pal at the Youth Academy was fellow England and Man Utd star Marcus Rashford and they are still friends today.
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Jesse would run around the canteen winding up Marcus by stealing his hat or phone. Now they play against each other on Call Of Duty.
Today Jesse knows the name of everyone at the ground, from the cleaners to the ground staff, and has a different handshake for each one.
He regularly wanders over to the academy building to watch the youth teams train. He recently turned up to watch Fletcher Moss’s under-12s play, saw that the players were shivering in the cold and gave the club £350 so they could buy the youngsters new training gear.
Ron Jamieson said: “He came over to the manager and said, ‘Do the lads need anything?’ The manager said they could do with some jackets, so he bought them some out of his own pocket. That shows you what kind of character Jesse is.” He understands what he represents to United fans, a local lad who is still playing for his local team. There’s an Instagram video of him playing football with young kids who ambushed his car as he dropped a friend off.
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Love Island star Amber Davies reveals England footballer Jesse Lingard has been secretly messaging her
Jesse said: “Those kids may only ever see me once, so for them to have a mess around with me is probably great and for me it’s great.
“They may look up to me so I have to give something back, don’t I?
“When I was young I looked up to players when I saw them in the canteen. So I know how it feels.”
Two years ago eight-year-old fan Harley Watson was left distraught when the England international changed his shirt number before the start of the season.
He had bought a blue United away shirt with “Lingard 35” on the back just days before it was announced that the winger had switched to No14. His father Chad tried to swap the £65 Adidas shirt, but was unable to exchange or refund the item.
Family is so important. You only get one and you have to make the most of them
Jesse Lingard
So Jesse turned up at the family’s Manchester home with a brand new shirt with the correct number and had a kickabout in the back garden.
Chad said: “When they asked if we’d be in, I was just expecting the postman or a FedEx delivery man.
“Next thing Jesse was playing footie in the garden with Harley.”
And along with team-mates Ashley Young, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Rashford, Jesse turned up at the bedside of 73-year-old fan Paddy Lawler just 45 minutes before he died.
Paddy’s granddaughter Kayleigh, 27, had told on Facebook how it was his dying wish to meet members of the Man United squad.
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Jesse has been less fortunate in love, having been with childhood sweetheart Emma Hyde for five years until he ended it in 2016. He later went out with US-based Instagram model Jena Frumes. She ended their 15-month relationship in March after The Sun on Sunday exclusively revealed Jesse had romped in a hot tub three times with admin assistant Leonie Borek from Sheffield.
Jesse has a massive social media following and posts photos of his mansion, his bling and the other fruits of his success — including two Bentleys and a Range Rover.
But it was Jesse’s bravery that made him a favourite of Jose Mourinho, who has dubbed him United’s “naughty but funny”.
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Jesse Lingard shows off his abdominal muscles at the England World Cup hotel
When the mercurial manager was showered with milk and water after confronting City players celebrating their victory in a Manchester derby, tiny Jesse was the first to race to his boss’s aid.
Now England expects its little big man to deliver the goods against Belgium on Thursday.
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