Skinner: We’ve been on a journey

United make the trip down to Berkshire for an early kick-off on Saturday morning at Reading in the WSL, and ahead of the fixture, Marc has conducted his usual pre-match interview with MUTV. 

It will be the first time we have faced the Royals since the opening night of the season, and Marc’s first competitive game in charge of the team, when the Reds ran out 2-0 winners at Leigh Sports Village. 

With that in mind, the boss was asked about the difference in his side between then and now, and what he’s made of the growth in that period.

“[The development] pleases me. It really does,” Skinner told MUTV’s Stewart Gardner.

“We’ve been on a journey, we’ve been on these ups and downs, but I think what we’ve wanted this year is experience together. 

“I’ve been so pleased with the players’ attitudes towards our commitment levels and what we need to do. From there to here, of course we’ve grown massively but you have to take some bumps in the road to really know who you are, and this team have started to really realise who they are. 

“I’m really pleased with where we’re at, at this point.”

As we approach the middle of March, Saturday’s game is the first of our final seven matches in the league campaign, with the Reds firmly in the hunt for a historic Champions League berth for the club next season. 

Having moved back into the top three following a 4-0 victory over Leicester City, Skinner explains that his players have earned this opportunity to have our season’s destiny in our own hands over the next few months. 

“We’re always going to take it a game at a time, it’s the only way we’ll work because we’ll lose focus if we don’t do that. 

“But for it to be in our hands at this point and to give ourselves the maximum opportunity in each game, we’ve got to keep pushing. Now is the time to put our foot on the gas and really show our qualities. 

“More importantly, we’ve earned the right to do that, so I want us to continue that effort, belief and togetherness because that’s the thing that has got us to this point,” our head coach added.

“Many more things are to happen, many more twists and turns with the whole of the teams, but where we are right now is something that we’ve earned and something we should be proud of.”

As well as touching on the qualities of Reading and our routine for this week’s early kick-off in his pre-match Q&A, which you can watch in full towards the top end of this story, Marc also provides the latest team news. 

He reveals that he will definitely be without Carrie Jones, Hayley Ladd, Aoife Mannion, Kirsty Smith and Lucy Staniforth, while the game could also come too soon for Signe Bruun and Jade Moore. Our head coach says that his list of absentees will be no excuse for the Reds at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, however. 

“Depth-wise, you’d like to call on that quality of player, but do you make excuses or do you deal with what you have?

“I can’t sit here and ask my team to make any reasons or excuses because we still have lots and lots of quality, so we will deal with the hand we’ve got and work with it because we have some really wonderfully talented players.

“We’d love to have those players back in with us but that will happen soon enough.”

Tickets for Manchester United Women’s WSL game against Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday 27 March are on sale now and you can secure yours now by clicking here.