Louis van Gaal told Manchester United players to 'ignore the fans', says Jesse Lingard

The club's support have openly criticised Van Gaal's style of play in recent weeks

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal (Getty Images)

Manchester United youngster Jesse Lingard has revealed that Louis van Gaal told his players to “ignore the fans” during the narrow Champions League win over CSKA Moscow.

The club’s supporters have been particularly critical of performances in recent weeks, following a run of three straight 0-0 draws with little adventure on display.

Former players have publicly criticised a perceived lack of adventure in United’s style of play and, during last weekend’s stalemate at Crystal Palace, the away end could be heard imploring their side to ‘attack, attack, attack’.

The mood was no different at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, when Van Gaal’s decision to replace the lively Anthony Martial with Marouane Fellaini invited boos from all corners of the ground.

Wayne Rooney’s winner eleven minutes from time, assisted by the impressive Lingard, was the home side’s first goal for 404 minutes, and the youngster revealed that the strike came to the relief of his manager.

When asked what Van Gaal had said to the team during the half-time interval, Lingard said: “Just to keep going and perform the same as the first half – be patient, ignore the fans and keep playing your own game.”

Manchester United youngster Jesse Lingard (Getty Images)

"I was trying to be as direct as I could and get the crowd on their feet," the 22-year-old added, speaking about his performance as a whole.

"Obviously I had to be direct at the right time, so we had to be patient sometimes. I'm glad the goal came."

Manchester United went to the top of Group B with their win and now hold a one-point advantage over PSV Eindhoven and Wolfsburg.