Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that the club’s FA Women’s Continental League Cup fixture at Durham on Thursday evening provides his team with a great opportunity to develop the mental and physical side of their game.
The Red Devils will come up against a side who are top of the FA Women’s Championship while Durham have won all of their home games so far this season.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time in his pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner said that while the Durham game is a potential banana skin for his side, it is about taking the positive opportunities from the occasion to develop their own game.
“If they are trying to make everything in their favour with them being at home and with a sell-out crowd, that’s wonderful,” Skinner said. “Every voice that cheers against us is a moment that we have to propel us forward. For us, our fans could probably out-sing anyway, even if we have 30 fans there they will be the ones that you hear in the game.
“From an outsider, it is a banana skin but we don’t think about that, it is us thinking about how we can beat the opponent. We really do flip our mindset to how we can beat opponents, not what they can do to us, it’s more about how we can hurt them.
“I have watched their games and they can be a very, very tough challenge, they have some very good players and have recorded some very good results as well. It is going to be a tough game but I want these for our players, I want our players to be super, super tough to beat not only physically but mentally. I know that we have the quality to play beautiful football but we have to have the other side of the game too. What a great opportunity for us – rather than it be a banana skin, what a great opportunity for us to show that against a team that will be in fine form and will be right up against us in the game.”
Skinner suggested that some changes could be made to his starting XI at Maiden Castle and the Manchester United boss believes that he will learn a lot about his players from the occasion.
He said “When we talk about rotation, it is not about being crazy. These players are high quality that we are bringing in and we have to keep stability. There are going to be familiar positions, familiar places, familiar faces but then the quality that we are bringing in can have a real impact in the game.
“I am really looking forward to seeing what they can do, it will tell me everything about my squad. This will be a great chance to see how my players perform in an arena that is a little bit unfamiliar and we have really got to show that psychological edge as well. I love that because when we go into this game, I see exactly what my team are made of so that I can make the best decisions for who plays with who, where do we rotate, who can come in, who can start. I look forward to all of the obstacles that will be thrown at us against Durham.
“We have got to go in there to be very tough to beat, be very resilient but to also find a way to win the game.”
Manchester United’s FA Women’s Continental League Cup group fixture against Durham at Maiden Castle kicks-off at 7pm on Thursday evening.
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