Manchester United Women head coach Marc Skinner has cautioned that our Barclays WSL trip to face Liverpool could be “one that's charged with emotion”
following the sad passing of Matt Beard.
Beard had most recently been in charge of Burnley, but was perhaps best known for his time with the Merseysiders, whom he led to two title wins in 2013 and 2014, before returning for a second spell in 2021.
His death has understandably had a devastating impact on those at Liverpool, and figures throughout the football community more generally, and his legacy will be marked before this fixture, the first league game our hosts have played since the tragic news.
Skinner discussed the matter in his recent meeting with journalists, stating that putting our all into this game is the tribute Matt would want to see.
“I think it'll be one that's charged with emotion, and that can go two ways for a team,”
Skinner said. “It can galvanise you, it can promote you, it can push you, or it can consume you.
”It'll be highly charged with emotion, but very respectful, I think, from both teams. I think there will be a respect for the great man.
“The best tribute we can pay to Matt, knowing his character, is to go and put a fantastic performance in and try to win the game, because that what he always tried to do. He always tried to win the game.
”I think to pay him a tribute, and a credit, we have to go and do the same.“
Amid the weight of the news, the intricacies of the game from a tactical perspective will be difficult to grapple with, and it's something at the forefront of the United manager's mind.
He continued: “It'll be a difficult one, because, as I say, you never know until the moment whether it's going to over-emotionally stimulate Liverpool, and they won't know until that moment. The players won't know that.
”From Gaz [Taylor], he'll be experienced enough to know how to set the team up.
“I'm sure they're going to have energy at times, that we're going to have to soak the pressure up and deal with, but we'll speak about that.”
Turning focus to on-field matters, our hosts have not made the start they would have wanted to the WSL this term, with two losses from their first two outings.
Despite that, Skinner is not underestimating the challenge that they could pose in St Helens during the midday kick-off on Sunday.
“They've started games really, really well,”
the boss said of our upcoming opponents. “I know we played them in pre-season, and again, [they] did the same, pretty much [playing] in the way Gaz wants to play in terms of ball possession; he prioritises that.
”They've shown moments of fragility, and I'd expect that with a team that are trying something new. But, all in all, I don't think it'll be long until they turn those results around.“
It is thankful, therefore, that United will have an almost clean bill of health heading into the WSL clash, with just three absentees remaining.
Simi Awujo, Millie Turner and Leah Galton will not be available for this game, as confirmed by Skinner in the press conference, but there are no fresh setbacks in terms of injuries.
“Right now, everybody is back and available barring Simi [Awujo], Millie [Turner] and Leah [Galton].
”Everybody else is in the squad and, as of now, we've still got two training sessions, but, as of now, everybody is fighting fit and ready to go.“