"It’s not easy for the player to come out against the manager" - Martin Keown claims to believe Manchester United duo's public remarks against Ralf Rangnick

Manchester United star Jesse Lingard recently refuted Ralf Rangnick's claims that he asked for a break to clear his mind following his transfer saga this winter. Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has now jumped to the defense of the attacking midfielder.

Lingard's situation is similar to that of Anthony Martial, who Rangnick accused of making himself unavailable for selection ahead of the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in January. However, the Frenchman later denied the manager's claims.

Speaking on White and Jordan, Keown admitted that he believes the players' stories as opposed to their coach's claims.

"One thing that is for sure is that there is a clear difference of opinion. I tend to believe in the players, I don’t know whether this is a break down in communication in terms of the language with the manager, because he is going with the club policy, ‘what is good for Manchester United, lets say it this way’, and then the players have come out to deny it."

"It’s unfortunate, I would have thought Lingard would just want to get on with his football and wouldn’t want to step out, and this might have been another opportunity, tonight, to play in another game of football because he’s hardly played at all recently."

Martin Keown also commended the Manchester United stars for coming out to defend themselves, noting that it isn't easy for players to come out against their manager.

He said:

"It doesn’t look good on the player and the player has come out to protect himself [but] it’s a difficult one. Who do you believe? It’s one word against the other."

"I do [believe in the players], I’ll always side with the players because it’s not an easy thing for the player to come out against the manager. I’m not sure why the manager is getting this wrong, it’s twice he’s got it wrong."

---

What next for Manchester United?

Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial have both refuted Ralf Rangnick's claims this season

Following their disappointing exit from the FA Cup after losing to Middlesbrough yesterday, Manchester United will return to Premier League action with a clash with Burnley on Tuesday. They will then face Southampton, Brighton and Leeds United in the league.

The Red Devils will also play the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash with Atletico Madrid on February 23. It remains to be seen how they'll fare in these fixtures.