Manchester United Women’s manager, Marc Skinner, called on his team to show greater ruthlessness in front of goal than they have currently been showing as of late.
After the glory of making it into the FA Cup final, holding on to beat Chelsea, the Red Devils followed up the result with a disappointing 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in their next league fixture.
United will take on Leicester City on Sunday afternoon, aiming to fend off Liverpool to keep their fourth place in the Women’s Super League standings.
Skinner opened up his pre-match press conference by lavishing praise on new technical director Jason Wilcox and spoke of his excitement at working closely with the former Blackburn winger.
When asked his views on Wilcox potentially introducing an overarching style that both the men’s and women’s team would follow he stated, “Yeah, I think any team has an identity and I think you can talk about it. Jason’s had fantastic success at his previous clubs, including style of play and from our perspective, we welcome anyone who has fantastic input. It can only be a positive thing.”
“As a Manchester United team, an attacking style of play is really important to our fans”.
The coach was then asked about how he would continue to blood youngsters into his first-team squad after the success of the men’s side, where Ethan Wheatley became the 250th academy graduate to make a debut for the first team.
He spoke of the importance of training but also believed the success of the youth teams this season will only benefit their development.
“You can’t replicate the pressure in a game (in training). The success of the under-21s and 16s gives them exposure to pressure early.
“Pre-season will be key. We’ll see a lot of them and make a plan for each individual”.
Skinner went on to discuss this weekend’s opponent and spoke in glowing terms of the Foxes’ performance level in this campaign.
“Maybe their results have not been what they wanted but their performances have been absolutely fine. Every time I watch them, they are creating chances. Leicester are a very good team in my opinion. We look forward to playing them.”
However, the United coach believes that winning the match will be down to one factor and that is putting away their chances.
“We need to dictate but I want us to be more ruthless in both boxes. We have to get back to that. We’ve created against Tottenham, lots and lots of chances to win the game. We have to show our ruthless side.”
The 41-year-old was then asked to provide some team news and he commented that the side will largely be unchanged but Jayde Riviere was “back training individually” and that she will hopefully make a return next week.
Skinner was then asked to share his thoughts on defender Maya Le Tissier signing a new deal and he was understandably delighted.
“I think she’s going to be a cultural architect for what we want to build at Manchester United. That’s the reason she has signed again.”
Speaking on her performance against Spurs, where she scored a last-minute equaliser, he claimed, “I really enjoyed her performance barring a couple of moments. I think she really grew into the game. She led with her body language and voice. I want her to help me build this winning team that we want to see at Manchester United.”
Finally, the former Birmingham City coach commented on how his team must concentrate on winning every game, despite their chances of qualifying for the top three having already been extinguished.
“We have to focus on the here and now. There’s a great chance for us because I want my players to see every opportunity not just the one coming down the line. That shows our mentality, we want to win every game.”
With crucial ties against Leicester, Liverpool and Chelsea in the league and a showpiece FA Cup final versus Tottenham on the 12th May, there is still much to look forward to this season for United’s Women.
