JESSE Lingard will be proud to represent Warrington at the World Cup, his old football coach at Beamont Collegiate Academy says.

The Longford-born midfielder is set to start for England in their last-16 clash with Colombia tonight after impressing in the two group games he played against Tunisia and Panama and scoring against the latter.

Craig Milburn was Lingard’s coach when he attended Beamont and admits watching one of his old charges playing at the World Cup is “surreal.”

Mr Milburn, who is now assistant principal at the school, says the 25-year-old will be “delighted to fly the flag for the school, the town and the country in Russia.

“It is really surreal. He was a really quiet, unassuming lad but now he’s expressing himself,” he said.

“It has been great to watch him develop into the player he is now.

“The goal he scored against Panama was a dream goal. It was the kind of goal every lad dreams of scoring at a World Cup.

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“Jesse is a real asset to the school and we’re all very proud of him.

“Watching him in Russia has been an inspiration for the kids as well. You can see they are buzzing to play on the same pitches as he did.

“I think he’s a proud Warrington lad. You can see on Twitter that he’s delighted to be representing the country and the town as well.”

Lingard has enjoyed a meteoric rise from first kicking a football at junior side Penketh United, establishing himself as a key player for both Manchester United and England.

However, there were doubts about whether he would make it in the professional game.

“When he was with us, he was quite a slight lad,” Mr Milburn explained.

“Some teams may have found his size to be a potential issue for him.

“You could tell his skill level was so advanced, though.

“His awareness as well set him apart. He knew whatever was going on around him on the field.”

Lingard has made history in Russia by becoming the first Warrington-born player to feature at a World Cup since 1966.

Mr Milburn hopes he will find time to drop in on his old school when he returns to England.

“He is quite a busy man, obviously, so we don’t see as much of him as we’d like to.

“He popped in unannounced once.The trouble with that, though, is that we’re always teaching when he does so he catches us off-guard a little!

"Hopefully he'll find time to come and see us after the World Cup.

“He does make us all very proud. The kids are clearly buzzing that an England player went to Beamont.”