Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that his side will have to be at their very best when they travel to Walton Hall Park to take on Everton tomorrow.
After their midweek disappointment in the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup, Manchester United will be aiming to continue their perfect start in the Barclays Women’s Super League with victory over an in-form Everton team.
Brian Sørensen’s Blue Girls have won three out of five league games themselves but with Alessia Russo back in contention following her injury, Manchester United could have their number nine in their team which would be a massive positive against a very tricky opponent.
“I’ve been really impressed with the way Everton have started,” Manchester United boss Skinner said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “I’m really impressed with what they’re trying to achieve with the ball; they keep it moving simple and they progress up the pitch as a team.
“There’s going to be periods in this game where we don’t have the ball and what Everton are doing is making you earn any victory or result you have.
“We have to be focused for the whole game and I believe we have to be at our very best to get a result. On paper, it looks like the hardest game but that would be us underestimating all the teams we’ve played prior to this.”
One Red Devil who has an excellent record against Everton is attacking midfielder Ella Toone. The England international is an integral member of Skinner’s side and already has two goals and an assist to her name this season.
“We’ve been working together for a year now and she’s naturally going to grow up and become more mature,” said Skinner. “You’ll see her as a player and what she does with the ball but even holding positions longer, being in the right position at the right time and if she loses the ball, she reacts quicker than she has done before.
“I’ve been impressed with those little things that build the players and the quality. If her counter press and reactions are quicker, then we get more opportunity to play and she creates more opportunities for us to score.”
When players are proving themselves, whether it’s in the Barclays Women’s Super League or in the domestic cup games where we see squad rotation, it’s always going to make Skinner’s decisions trickier as he approaches games week in, week out.
On that matter, he said, “We’re going through that period where we want to increase the competition in our team which means you want to give minutes to the players who deserve it. Our players that have come into the cup games have absolutely deserved their opportunities to play.
“There’s no doubt about it that picking the team is the worst part of my job. What’s important is that we have variations, connections and combinations of players that really compliment each other. It’s just making sure we put the right complimentary unit together so that they can help each other with their strengths and if they have any weakness, that they can cover for each other.”
Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Everton kicks-off at 2pm tomorrow afternoon.
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