Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that his side must be prepared for whichever Brighton & Hove Albion side turns up at the Leigh Sports Village this afternoon.
The Seagulls can play a good brand of football, however, with Hope Powell’s side being the underdogs, they could equally adopt a more tactical approach to their game.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner said that his side will need to be prepared for whichever Brighton & Hove Albion side turns up. He also added that his side are focusing solely on Brighton and not European qualification.
“With Brighton, you never really know what you are going to get,” Skinner said. “They can put in a wonderful performance but they can also be very solid and have a good foundation to build from, you know you are going to get that. They can play wonderful one-touch football but then they might not. What we have to focus on is what Brighton turn up.
“If we win our remaining games and go on a goalscoring run, we give ourselves the best chance of being in the Champions League but we have to focus on Brighton or we don’t deserve to be in the Champions League. We continue to focus on things game-to-game.”
Manchester United recorded a convincing 2-0 win in the reverse fixture before Christmas. Skinner went on to say that this afternoon’s clash will be a different game and it will be up to his side to unlock a solid Brighton & Hove Albion team.
He said “We were dominant in that game, it’s a tight pitch but at Leigh there’s obviously more space. I would have liked us to have converted more of our chances in that game which really would have cemented that dominant performance.
“It’s a different game now because Brighton have some really great attacking threats, they are very solid defensively but we do know ways which we can hurt that. I never underestimate a Hope Powell team and that’s why I give them all of the respect in the world. It is going to be a tough one but I expect that with every game that we’ve got now.”
Manchester United’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion kicks-off at 12pm.
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