Skinner: Old Trafford heightens the emotion

It's also the second time our women's team will play in front of fans at the Theatre of Dreams, with the first of three outings at the iconic venue dating back to the pandemic days of closed stadia. Skinner's predecessor, Casey Stoney, was in charge for that one, an entertaining 2-0 win over West Ham United.

When we caught up with Marc earlier this week, he explained how he wants his players to use the experience of last season's 3-1 victory against Everton when there were 20,241 supporters in the stands. More than 36,000 tickets have already been sold for this afternoon's game and they will remain on sale until kick-off at 12:30 GMT.

Below you can watch and read our exclusive interview in full.

Marc it's a big week for our club, the third time we have played at Old Trafford, are you looking forward to it?
''Hugely! It was such an immense experience last year, the build-up to it, but I hope what we show this time is the experience of having played there in front of the fans. The first time was behind closed doors when we played West Ham and then we obviously played Everton and now it's Villa. I want to make sure that we manage the moment and give the fans something that is really worthy of their support.''

Just recently you have talked about giving the fans something to love and the game against Arsenal was an incredible feeling that I'm sure ran through the squad. The fans are already looking forward to the game against Aston Villa but are the team looking forward to it?
''It was an amazing shared moment with the fans [at Arsenal] because they were together. All the energy from the goal went straight over to them, but again their part in that game, to have the belief for us when we conceded, when we were winning the game, when we were losing the game... we came back to draw [level in] the game and then in front of those fans we wanted to show them the energy they gave us in the game and we wanted to give it back to them. It was all part of the chemistry that allowed us to perform in the way that we did in that last part of the game, we could have easily crumbled. I have seen it happen before but for this team it was a big learning curve for us and I have said this very clearly, every game we win, lose or draw, something has to be learnt from it. We have to show that experience and in that game, I feel we did that in abundance. It was a good and great collective Manchester United performance.''

It felt like the United philosophy was instilled into that performance against Arsenal. It felt like that was what the whole club was trying to achieve, and I suppose that never-give-up attitude is something you want the squad to keep?
''It's something that I am very proud of. As Manchester United manager, it's something to get close to the spirit of the team. It's a special moment and I will be very clear, I am very grounded and I am very down to earth and we have to do that and we have to earn the right to do that. We showed that as a team we have that spirit and we have it in us, we have to keep bringing it out when we perform to get those results. Hopefully we [also] perform when we don't concede or go behind because [going behind] made it difficult for us but in the moment we needed it we found it. What that shows me now is that I have something to go back to and [say] 'look, remember, this is what it felt like, these were our actions and we need that.' All of sudden you have done something and you have the experience of it. It's then easier to bring it out in the next action. That's what I was most proud of from that performance.''

After that there has been a little bit more breathing time and a little bit more training time. How good has it been to get the girls all together on the training ground?
''Absolutely, the hardest part about my job right now has been who to pick in the team, because it is based on so many high-level players that are performing well. You go with the game plan and your gut feeling and how they have prepared, there are many factors within that. It was great to get them all in on the game ideas, we have four games in quick succession coming up so we needed to make sure we needed to have eyes on now and then we need focus on the games coming up.''

There is so much talent in that team, it must be hard anyway to have to pick a team in general, but especially when it is a game at the Theatre of Dreams. Does it get a little bit more competitive now that everybody wants to play at the stadium?
''They all want to play at the stadium and they all want to experience playing for Manchester United and playing at Old Trafford, that emotion is heightened. For me I have to take that emotion out of it and I have to pick a team that can win the game. The beauty of it is you can pick different variants of the team that can win the game, we just have to maximise a game plan based on what the opponent can give us. It can go different routes and you can still win the game, but for me it is putting a team out in this moment that can win the way we want to win. We know how difficult that can be as this [Aston Villa] team that we are playing is a very good team that is growing in their experience too. We have to put a really good performance in if we want to win the game.''

We have already played Villa this season. Do you think that experience will help us, considering we have already had a first go at them this season?
''I think it will be a different game, as when we played at Bescot Stadium, which is their home ground, it was a very tight compact pitch, whereas we are good in spaces, we create spaces and we move the opponent. For us to find that, Old Trafford is a huge stadium and a huge pitch as well, our aim is to exploit the opponent, try and move them around the pitch, but also we have the beauty of scoring goals in different ways. Different people, different ways, so if you think you can defend against us one way, we can switch and attack you in another way. That's where I wanted to grow from last year and I think we have. I think it will be a different game, but an equally tough opponent.''

How is everyone looking ahead of the game?
''Looking healthy. Everyone bar Aoife [Mannion], who is now back in full contact in training, with still the timeframe of, should she come through it, [playing] after Christmas. It is looking positive and everyone is up for selection, which makes it even harder!''

Is this game at Old Trafford great for making that statement as role models, as you want them to represent themselves and show on the pitch that the United vision is inside them?
''Absolutely. I think they will have that and they have shown that. We represent the best club in the world, for us it is ensuring we perform like that. We have a responsibility about that and I have a responsibility as manager to perform that way and expect that of our players and support them in that. Come game time, I want us to switch to business mode and the way we will perform best is by switching business mode on against a very tough opponent. We need to make sure we are focused on that.''

At the moment, there are more than 30,000 tickets sold for our game at Old Trafford. Is it great to see how many people pile in to watch women's football?
''It is absolutely wonderful. I still would love us to fill that stadium and push towards that in the future, [that would be] brilliant. That is an amazing amount of fans and you know how noisy we are with just 10 Manchester United fans, so to have 30,000 will be magnificent. If you haven't got your ticket yet, come and get your ticket because I think it is hugely important to support a team that is very much your own and is part of your DNA. It is going to produce performances that are very Manchester United-esque, so if you haven't got a ticket yet make sure you come and support us because we want to make sure we pack as much of the stadium out as possible."

Tickets for today's game at Old Trafford are available here until kick-off at 12:30 GMT.