Skinner: We need to show how far we’ve come
Marc Skinner wants his Manchester United players to show just how far we’ve come this season when we welcome Arsenal to Leigh Sports Village on Wednesday (19 April).
A lot of talk surrounding this fixture is naturally about the reverse clash back in November, when United scored a last-gasp winner in a five-goal thriller to beat the Gunners 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium.
While that occasion is one of our more memorable WSL wins, Skinner is keen for us to look ahead and not ‘lose the moment’ of tomorrow evening.
“That moment [the win] raised our belief in the process and what we’re trying to achieve,” the boss told the media on Tuesday morning.
While that occasion is one of our more memorable WSL wins, Skinner is keen for us to look ahead and not ‘lose the moment’ of tomorrow evening.
“That moment [the win] raised our belief in the process and what we’re trying to achieve,” the boss told the media on Tuesday morning.
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“But I do believe this game will be different,” he added. “I think if we just look back, we’ll lose the moment.
“I think what we need to do is really show how far we’ve come.
“[We want to] show the aggressive nature, show the energetic football we have, and take that to Arsenal and see if they have any answers for that.”
“I think what we need to do is really show how far we’ve come.
“[We want to] show the aggressive nature, show the energetic football we have, and take that to Arsenal and see if they have any answers for that.”
Despite both sides registering the two best defensive records in the league – with the Reds just edging ahead having conceded one fewer – Skinner expects yet another high-scoring thriller between the sides.
“If it’s a 0-0, I’ll be very surprised,” he admitted.
“For us, it’s about trying to dominate and try and move the opponent.
“If it’s a 0-0, I’ll be very surprised,” he admitted.
“For us, it’s about trying to dominate and try and move the opponent.
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“We know Arsenal like to go direct, we’ve seen [Stina] Blackstenius running behind the [defensive] line and Caitlin Foord in the wide channel and [Victoria] Pelova as well, so we know what they like to do.
“It’s the same [for us], we like to drag you in and play and we can invade from wide or central.”
“It’s the same [for us], we like to drag you in and play and we can invade from wide or central.”
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Despite Wednesday’s opponents missing key names – the injured Kim Little and suspended Katie McCabe to name a few – the boss remains consistent in his desire to focus solely on us in the approach to every game.
“It’s just about playing our quality in front of our home fans and getting to our energy because I think most teams find it difficult to play [against] that.
“That’s our controllable and that is what we’re going to try and promise our fans tomorrow.”
“It’s just about playing our quality in front of our home fans and getting to our energy because I think most teams find it difficult to play [against] that.
“That’s our controllable and that is what we’re going to try and promise our fans tomorrow.”
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