Skinner: We've got big-time players who aren't fazed
Manchester United boss Marc Skinner spoke of the seasoned mentality of his players following Sunday's 4-1 win over Everton in the Barclays WSL.
United had to come from behind to take all three points at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, staging an Everton Women game for the first time since opening earlier this year. But the Reds were dominant overall and thoroughly deserved the victory.
Skinner was very complimentary about the state-of-the-art facilities. He even suggested the steepness and imposing nature of the stands was "quite daunting" at first because "it really towers over you". But United are well used to such venues by now and the players took it in their stride.
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"They're big time players now," he said of the United squad.
"It's another stadium. They play like it's just another pitch in another surrounding. I think that's healthy. I really do think that's healthy, because it doesn't distract from your job then.
"We're going to need that if we want to go on progressing in the Champions League. I think [playing at] Wembley helped through that, you know, playing at the Emirates and Old Trafford and all of those places. I think we probably actually had a little bit more of an advantage, because Everton don't usually play here, whereas it's another stadium for us to visit and try and win."
'THE FANS WERE INCREDIBLE'
United fans always travel in good numbers for away trips, but there was a particularly loud and vocal away section in the north-east corner of the stadium that made itself heard throughout.
"They were incredible…they were so loud," Skinner remarked on the backing United had. "I think our fans dominate away venues and their voice was incredible today. I'm happy we can send them home happy with a 4-1 win. Their team is playing really well and they're a massive part of why."
'WE KEEP PEOPLE GUESSING'
Jess Park has been a huge success since her arrival at United last month, adding an extra layer of dynamism to the team. She didn't start this game, eventually scoring twice off the bench, but Skinner explained afterwards that was all part of the plan to trip Everton up.
"We knew that Everton would have a gameplan to try and stop Jess today, because they've prepared a week for it," the boss said.
"So then we rotated by playing a winger system rather than an inside '10' system. Second half, [when Park comes on], they have to adapt again. It's keeping people guessing that we're not just a one-trick pony, we have different ways to hurt you."