Skinner: We’ve grown from our experiences

Marc sat down with regular host Sam Homewood and first-time co-hosts former Reds goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain and MUTV’s Ben Ibson for an insightful conversation off the back of a historic season for United Women.

You can hear – and watch – that chat exclusively on ManUtd.com and in the United App from 17:00 BST today (Wednesday), during which the boss reflects on a campaign that his side achieved a record-high WSL finish of second place - securing Champions League football for the first time - and reached the final of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup.

Skinner shares his honest assessments while looking back on the term, saying: “It was tough [we wanted to win trophies]. The draw against Everton, I think we had 32 shots or something like that, so it’s one of those days.

“And the only team we lost to in the league was Chelsea. So, I look at that, I think when I look at the games we played I think we won 18 and we had a win percentage of 81.8 per cent or something around there.

“So when I look at that I go: ‘Yeah, but then there’s still that tinge of wanting to win it because that’s what our club has set for, and that’s what we want to achieve.’

“In the FA Cup final, we did really well [in the] first half and go off a little bit [in the] second half, and then one moment where we switch off, they punch it. And that’s where we’ve got to grow.

“We’re a fast-food culture now, aren’t we? We want everything right now and we want it served on a platter for us, but the reality is we know with all of the things we’re hitting and getting hurt with, they build what we want to achieve which is long-term success not just a flash-in-the-pan success.”

There's a wide range of topics covered in the near-hour-long chat with our head coach, including his upbringing, coaching journey so far and what awaits next for his United side.

Marc also gives an insight into his management style and how he feels setting short-term goals at United is key to working towards the long-term vision of our women’s team.

“I often find that when you set goals that are fixed, it’s very difficult to move away from them should you get injuries and so on.” he continued.

“And then all of a sudden we go: ‘We want this points tally’ and we don’t achieve it. It’s devastation. I work much more about the practicality of each day and what it must look like in each game, so it’s almost like micro goal-setting.  

“Because the players, every player, should be telling you they want to win the league.  If they’re not, they shouldn’t be at Manchester United. So, for me it’s about those little parts and I think when I’ve looked at it and reflect on this season, we’re ahead of schedule.”

Continuing discussing our progression, the boss believes that a reason for his team’s success over recent months, in his second year at the club, is the lessons that we were able to learn from his inaugural campaign.

The Reds narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification on that occasion, in 2021/22, but now having achieved that this time around, Marc insists that our slender shortcomings in the term just gone can be next season’s motivation to hit new heights.

“We’ve got the most experience from last year where we failed,” he added.

“So, not getting what we want this year in terms of a first-place finish and a cup, it will only drive us forwards, but I can only be pleased. 

“I mean when you look at the statistics, my performance metrics, if they’re there next year and we add the right players in to this team, then I think we can go on to achieve special things.”

You can hear more from Marc when the full episode drops on ManUtd.com and the United App at 17:00 BST, 24 hours before it's released across all other podcast providers.