Skinner’s word on award winners

The duo shared the Players’ Player of the Year prize having been tied on equal votes from their team-mates, while Ella also claimed the Player of the Year accolade and the Goal of the Season trophy via respective fan selections.

Since they were presented with their silverware at Old Trafford earlier this month, Skinner has been speaking about both Le Tissier and Toone in an exclusive season-review interview, which you can now watch in full on ManUtd.com and the United App.

The boss says Ella came up with great goals in big moments this term – including her Adobe FA Cup final opener against Tottenham which won our Women’s Goal of the Season award – and is now determined to keep pushing our no.7 to continue producing her best. 

“There are big moments, you need big players and I think you look at the Leicester goal specifically and I look at obviously the goal in the final, and those are moments the team needed her and she stepped up to deliver,” Skinner said of Toone, who registered a combined total of 18 goals and assists across all competitions this season. 

“Ella has that quality. Everybody knows but I don't think she's at the end yet. I think there's more to come. And I think what has impressed me is that, even if you struggle through a reinvention of yourself as a player, because the opposition gets used to how you play and they stop that, you've got to keep reinventing who you are and I think I'm proud of her for those moments. 

“I've seen her practice all those shots for weeks and weeks and weeks on end after every session, and it's no coincidence. People think you just turn up and do it. No, you have to work hard. But my job as a coach is to get even more out of Ella for Manchester United, and I've got to push her, and I've got to drive her standards every day. 

“But from my perspective, she's a worthy winner of those awards because of the moments she's created.”

Skinner also had high praise for Le Tissier, who certainly endured no sophomore slump in her second season as a Red. 

The defender played every minute of every game, across all competitions in 2023/24, and Marc says that our no.4 has earned that honour for a number of reasons, having also started all but two matches in her debut campaign.

“She's an incredibly gifted footballer. Great mentality, great personality. Wants to win everything she does. So competitive,” he explained.

“She has the potential to be a future captain for Manchester United. I have no doubt about that and is someone that will take on responsibility. 

“From my perspective, to have her in the team for the array of passes that she has. She's like a quarterback. She can build from deep. She can find inventive passes, creative passes. She can feed the forwards. But she defends with her heart and soul. 

“The reason Maya plays every minute is because Maya deserves to play every minute. Wherever she dips a tiny per cent in her performance, she wants to get better and better and better every day at training, she stays out and does extras. That's the type of person that develops a culture. 

“And so I'm pleased as a manager that we identified her and brought her to the club because I think she will be a huge part of this club for many years.”

You can watch Marc's end-of-season interview here, in the latest episode of our Women's Round-up.