Skinner: We have to be more ruthless at both ends

The Reds travel to Walton Hall Park on Sunday to take on Everton in the Women’s Super League.

The game comes just four days after United were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.

Skinner spoke to the press on Friday morning ahead of this weekend's fixture. Read below what he had to say...

On the way United have started the season…

"The reality is that if we do fall behind in a game, then we have to get a goal back to get back into the game. It’s not a negative. The way we play and the way we have been playing – what we have got is a team who create chances.

"We should be winning these games, that’s the reality. I want us to be more ruthless.

"If I look at every goal we have conceded so far, there are elements we know we can control and we haven’t and that is a factor of us learning together.

"Even in the game against PSG, we could have stopped those goals.

"It’s a bit disappointing from our perspective but that’s part of growing up as a team and we have to be more ruthless at both ends. If we convert our chances then we should winning games. I am not worried at all but I want my players to learn from it, to grow up and to grow together.

"I believe that this team can always get back into a game."

On going from Parc des Princes to Walton Hall Park…

"This is the reality. We go from Parc des Princes and it is an unbelievable setting, an unbelievable evening, barring the result, but now if we want to qualify and we want to be there again then we have to go to Everton.

"The pitch is always lovely at Walton Hall Park. You have to go there and you have to try and get three points.

"If our players are hungry and they maintain their hunger, they want to get back to Champions League. We have to do better than last year which means winning the league. We have to get back into that rhythm. If we can get back to that second-half performance against PSG, then we can beat anybody in this league. That’s our responsibility to get to those levels."

On injury news and Gabby George’s surgery…

"I spoke to Gabby and we have messaged a few times after the game on Wednesday night. She is doing okay. I think what you get when you have the operation is you have that start point. It’s the start of the rehabilitation phase. She will still be in the emotional stage but I think once we get her into rehab then we can raise her back up.

"Apart from Gabby, and obviously Aoife [Mannion] has not been in either. We will assess [the squad] today.

"I am hopeful that there are no injuries, there did not seem to be after the game. There might be some tired legs that we can flush out over the next few days and get them ready for Sunday."