Skinner’s Arsenal preview

The Reds face the Gunners at Leigh Sports Village in the league this weekend, in our final game before the late-November international break. 

The league outing will come four days on from our midweek victory over Manchester City in the Continental Tyres League Cup, a result that the boss says his side are buzzing from and are determined to build on.

And Skinner has challenged his team to produce the character shown in Wednesday’s derby win again, during our upcoming meeting with the WSL leaders.

“It’s been great [the mood in the squad]. It deserves to be great, not just because of the result, but because of the grit and the determination the players showed in that game,” Skinner says in his pre-Arsenal catch-up with club media. 

“It was a great moment for them. It was what we had been asking from them and what they wanted to produce. 

“It’s been great to be around, it was a good moment but it’s nothing if you don’t continue to produce that quality and determination that brings out the best of you as a player, and that’s what we’re going to continue to ask the girls to do.”

Arsenal will arrive at Leigh this weekend as the Women’s Super League table-toppers, one point clear at the summit with six wins and a draw from their seven matches in the competition this season. 

And Skinner discussed the magnitude of the challenge that awaits his side when we step onto the pitch at lunchtime on Sunday.

“Possibly one of the biggest [this season]. This team [Arsenal] is going to push all the way for the championship, there’s no doubt about that. 

“How far they go in the Champions League will depend on them and their performances of course, but this is a real tough challenge and what we are here for. 

“We want to challenge ourselves in these moments, we want to show just how good Manchester United is. We want to make it a very difficult game for them to come and play against us,” the boss continued.

“We want to get into the top echelons of this league and show our qualities, we aim to be a Manchester United side that wins things. We welcome the challenge.

"Against Manchester City we had to be at our best and we have to continue to be our best so hopefully it rolls into the Arsenal game, and we can put on another great performance out there.”

While speaking to reporter Stewart Gardner in his pre-match interview, our head coach also provided the latest team news, including an update on Martha Thomas, who was forced off with an injury during our last outing on Wednesday.

“We had a little knock with Martha in the game, we brought her out of the game, she’s in a space where we’re assessing her and seeing where she’s at. 

“We’ve had Hayley Ladd who was been ill for the last few games but has been back on the grass, so we’ll see where she’s at,” Marc adds. 

“Millie Turner is looking to come back into training next week. It’s been great to have her back on the field. Apart from that, we’re in a good space and looking forward to the Arsenal game.”

Tickets for our Women’s Super League game against Arsenal at Leigh Sports Village are available to purchase here.