Manchester United Women head coach Marc Skinner has revealed the “edge”
he believes the team's pre-season trip to Marbella can provide heading into the new season.
The Reds travelled to the southern Spanish city in a repeat of last year's preparations, and it's a been another success in Skinner's eyes.
“I felt that last year, it gave us a real edge going into the season,”
he revealed in an exclusive interview with MUTV. “I felt that you connect, you spend time together, and what I've loved about this camp, this time, is that we've embedded new people in.
”It was about relationship building, and not that we haven't got those relationships, but it reminds us of what we want as a team, and the standards that we hold ourselves to.“
The camp saw the likes of new signing Julia Zigiotti Olme travel with her new colleagues for the first time, and provided a chance for Lionesses Ella Toone, Grace Clinton and Maya Le Tissier to link back up with the Reds following their international glory at Euro 2025.
Skinner continued: “When have you have this belief, and this inner belief that carries from winning, from those successes, and they bring it back into our environment, I think it's just an extra shot in the arm for when we need it.
”The experiences of those getting into those finals, taking some losses, but then taking the win as well, and to push on, that's what we need. So those experiences are going to be vital as we go throughout the season.“
The head coach is of the firm belief that those experience, plus fresh faces like Zigiotti and fellow new signing Fridolina Rolfo – the four-time Liga F champion and two-time UEFA Women's Champions League winner, who missed this camp as she finalised her transfer – add the know-how he has been looking for this summer.
United will undoubtedly have sterner tests than the 8-0 thrashing handed to Real Betis in Marbella, but Skinner believes the outing was key both to continue building relationships in the squad, and to ramp up the intensity as competitive games approach.
“If you're looking at our identity as a club, it's intensity, it's who we are,”
the manager declared. “Our fans give that commitment, they give that energy, so we need to give that back.
”We always have done, but I want to notch [that up], I want us to focus on that, going into next season.
“I think this camp's been able to do that. The game yesterday, yeah, although the opponent wasn't particularly the best on the day, because, you know, they're in pre-season too, we made sure that we utilised that relationship building, and I think we got a lot of the good outcomes I wanted.”
Tough training sessions have run alongside our pre-season outings so far, with just a warm-up match against Liverpool to go until we're back to competitive action with an all-important Champions League opener against PSV at the end of the month.
“You have to work hard,”
Skinner said. “And the reality is, if you don't go through the struggle of this, and you find that too difficult, you're not going to be successful in the season.
”I think last year we had the best availability in the league, so we know physically we prepare our players, but it's more about mental toughness, the mental edge.
“We didn't call it a friendly [against Betis], it was a test. And so we played a test yesterday and I was happy with the way the players approached that, and now we're ramped up to PSV, like when we play Liverpool, it's like we're playing PSV in that first game, so we'll be giving our absolute everything.”
The warm-weather camp has allowed the Reds boss to deliver key messages about what he believes his team is and what we wants them to be, ahead of what he believes can be a special campaign for United.
“There are key message that have come out,”
Skinner revealed. “So, the intensity is key for us. If you're not going to run, and hit, and tackle, and dribble, and drive, and pass with the intensity need at Manchester United, you're not going to be at Manchester United.
”You've got to be all in for the team, all in for the fans, all in for the club, and if you're not that, then you don't deserve to be at Manchester United. And I think we have the right group that are that.
“We've always connected with our fans, but I want to take it to a deeper level this year and really show the people who we're playing for, and if we can do that, we can have an incredible season, and that's the aim.”