The words "European Championship" were written on a whiteboard in the window of Jesse Lingard's Stratford flat overlooking London Stadium.
It may have seemed an ambitious goal when he joined West Ham from Manchester United on loan in January, but it was no surprise until England manager Gareth Southgate named his provisional squad for Euro 2020 in May That Lingard's name was on the list. His impressive turnaround at West Ham was made possible, but also by the help of a tight inner circle including his brother, Louis Scott, and UEFA Pro License coach, Alexandros Alexiadis.
This is how he transformed Jesse Lingard into Jesse 2.0 and, in turn, revived his career.
"It's been a massive team effort," Scott tells ESPN. "I introduced Alex [to Jesse], probably towards the end of the [2019-20] season and he just started analyzing and assessing Jess and looking at some of the details in terms of his characteristics, what his strengths are and How could he impose them a little more?
"It was a little more attention to detail and a little more effort to make sure we get the best results. It was about habits and consistency of performance. Once you drop, we know." What can happen and how far can you go up the ladder and we have to take it on the chin, work hard again and build a new foundation."
Together, Scott and Alexiadis - friends for 10 years - began spending hours analyzing games and training sessions, as well as Lingard's confidence after falling out of favor at Old Trafford during the 2019–20 season. worked to increase.
He had to be patient. Lingard, who came through the academy in 2014 at the age of 21 and made his first-team debut, found opportunities at United Limited early last season, making just two appearances in the Carabao Cup against Luton Town and Brighton.
When the January transfer window opened, West Ham won a scramble for his signature, but there was an expectation he would slowly need time to sleep due to not playing Premier League games since last July. Instead, he played 89 minutes of West Ham's 3–1 win over Aston Villa on 3 February - less than a week after the deal was announced - and scored twice.
Even when Lingard was being overlooked at United, the message reinforced by Scott and Alexiadis was "don't be ready, be ready" and it paid off.
"It was one of the key points that we could see when he played against Aston Villa," says Scott. "He ran 12km, scored two goals, played most 90 minutes and made a big contribution. Most probably thought he could come in for the last 30 minutes and get mileage back in the tank but he was so professional when Even he was not playing that he was already at that level.
"It wasn't just about going on loan and saying 'Okay, let's make a plan.' The results probably weren't there for the first six or seven months because he wasn't playing. We knew it wasn't something like that. That was going to be a quick fix, and we had to wait for a chance to see what we had in our minds.
The 28-year-old Lingard says his move to West Ham was "a lifeline".
"It was about hitting the restart button," he tells ESPN.
"The goals and objectives pushed me and made me really focused. Being out of Manchester and in a new environment helped a lot. My thoughts were clear, and I knew what to do. It was totally in the end It worked. People watched the game at the villa and were like 'Oh, he's back,' but the people closest to me, my friends and family, always knew it was there. It was about getting a chance to show it. I was in."
Lingard had initially scored three goals and two assists in his first six games for West Ham, but this was quickly modified.
"At first I was ambitious; I was like: 'Eight goals, six assists' and Louis was saying: 'No, let's put it on a level playing field'," laughs Lingard. "It was three goals, two assists before the Arsenal game to try to get into the England squad for the March international, after that we converted it to six goals and five assists.
"Then it was just about working hard and trying to stop them and help West Ham because I wanted to help West Ham get to Europe, that was the main objective."
Lingard eventually finished with nine goals and four assists for West Ham, finished sixth and qualified for the Europa League, winning the Premier League player of the month and goal of the month awards for April and England's March international. Selected by Southgate for the matches. He had agreed to make the final cut for Euro 2020.
An in-depth video analysis of hundreds of hours of footage led by Alexiadis - now head coach of the Greece under-17 team after spending six years at PAOK FC - helped Lingard seamlessly slot into David Moyes' team. They were also given a detailed description of the upcoming opponents and the potential players marking them. There were frequent Zoom calls with Alexiadis, and Lingard would watch clips on the bus for games.
"The team couldn't change for Jess - Jess had to figure out what he could do with West Ham," Alexiadis tells ESPN. "You have to figure out how Jess's skills can help West Ham. Because he was able to grasp West Ham principles quickly, he was able to score goals. If Jess gets two or three important things in the game. If he can, of course he will score or get an assist. Before a game, I can show him three or four moments where he can use his skills."
Lingard laughs and recalls an example of Alexiadis' advice: "The Leicester game, they were saying when I got the ball I probably wouldn't be able to turn because they play a high line," he recalls.
"The first time I got the ball, I turned and went into a Johnny Evans boom! Right inside me and I thought: 'Oh yeah, Alex said, don't change, okay'. It's the little things that he made you miss out on from a game." As told earlier, stay in your mind." West Ham beat Leicester 3-2 and Lingard scored twice.
Before the visit to Molyneux, Alexiadis showed Lingard how Wolves feared to run from midfield. Six minutes later, Lingard picked up the ball at the turn in his own half, ran forward, beat three players and scored to put West Ham 1–0 ahead. They won 3-2. Two different games against the teams were set apart, and two different ways for Lingard to hurt him.
"With video, we can show him what he can do and what else he can do," Alexiadis says. "For me, I focused more on what else he could do. When he succeeds at something, we find the next step. Jess was very positive towards it and that's important.
"You can't play every game perfectly. You're not a robot, you're a footballer. You can't even explain every game before the game happens. In a few moments, you'll be out of the game or you have to solve it." Gotta find out. A problem during the game. Jess has changed her mindset over the course of the games. There are different styles of play but we can still find a way for Jess to use her attributes and her skills."
Scott says: "Alex has been huge in terms of his analysis of teams and players, post and pre-match. He gave us a different perspective and a more intellectual approach to how you can analyze a game without getting too emotional "
Lingard is ready to give another example to support his brother's point.
"There wasn't really room to run with the ball at a Burnley game," he remembers. "After the game, Louie is saying 'You could have run more with the ball' but with Alex from a coaching perspective, he's saying 'No, it's not a running game, it's the second ball against Burnley. .'
"You get two different perspectives. That's good, because you need that emotional side from family members and you also need the perspective of a coach who can look at it in a different way."
Off the pitch, the emphasis is on mindset and mindset.
Scott introduced the whiteboard - titled "JC 2.0" - with one page devoted to statistics and goals and another covered in motivational phrases. Some were moments in Lingard's career such as "three Cup Final goals" while others were words such as "confidence," "aggression," and "leadership" during the day.
"It's just a little reminder," Lingard says. "I would go to bed and I could hear Louie getting off the board, so as soon as I left for training or a game, the board would be up and it would be little words or phrases that would stick in your mind."
Scott laughs: "I'll tell him a phrase before I leave for training. Right before he leaves, I'll say 'Give me something' and he'll say 'Intensity' and then he's out the door. It's a lot of positive Had energy and a positive mindset.
"I wanted to make sure he had a subconscious mindset. He had all the goals and you could see his goals. One of the biggest goals was to be back in the England squad for the Euros and we were so close."
Lingard has scored in FA Cup finals, EFL Cup finals and played in World Cup semi-finals, but he still admits that, after a difficult period in his career, he probably needs to be reminded how much he There are good players.
"I think so, for sure," he says. "I never doubted my ability, it was just confidence. I lacked confidence because I didn't play."
It's the belief that Alexiadis has seen as the biggest change during her 18 months at Lingard. "I've seen more confidence and that's an important thing," he says. "You can't lose your skill. For three or four years, he was one of the most important players. You can't forget it, but you have to have the confidence to show it again."
Lingard is back at United this summer and is preparing for a new season at the club's training base in Surrey, outside London.
Back in training a few days before the first preseason friendly at Derby County, he came in at half-time and was one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's best players as his team won 2–1. It would have been 3-1 if a fierce drive from 20 yards under the crossbar had sunk instead of crashing.
With still three weeks away from the start of the new season, Lingard, with the help of his brother and Alexiadis, has already picked up where he left off at West Ham.
"Working with Alex and Louie has improved my focus, concentration, and maturity," says Lingard.
"Before Alex, I didn't really have any specific goals or ambitions, but he's really helped. I know what I need to do to play and get into the team.
"At the moment it's friendly games but I'm taking them seriously. I'm not taking any prisoners. It's not like I need to prove myself to anyone, everyone knows what I can do Now I know in my mind what needs to be done.
"There's more to come, right now it's just grazing the surface. We'll have goals again. We'll have some goals for the first half of the season and then the second half. The whiteboards are back at my home in Manchester Nothing has happened yet, but will happen."