Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that his side are ready to be adaptable against Reading this weekend.
The Red Devils travel to the Select Car Leasing Stadium to face The Royals on Sunday afternoon.
On paper, Manchester United go into the game as heavy favourites. While opponents Reading haven’t always recorded positive results this season, they have developed an identity for coming on strong late in games. Kelly Chambers’ side have scored more than two thirds of their goals in the final half-hour of games.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United head coach Skinner said that his side will be prepared for the unique challenges that Reading pose and that they will be adaptable to the situation.
“We know how savvy Kelly (Chambers) and Phil (Cousins) are in terms of this league and the tactics that they use, that’s why Reading are always competitive,” Skinner said. “It doesn’t matter what result has gone before, they can be ultra-competitive in any game.
“What we’ve been better at this season is being able to adapt; if we need to freshen up the front-line, we can freshen it up to keep the press high. Sometimes you look at your strategy and it is about the whole 90 minutes, not just trying to win the game in the first half for example. We have wonderful forwards but if they drop the energy for a second, Reading are a team that can absolutely exploit that.
“We should prepare for different ways that they can set up. They’ve played a three at the back before, they’ve played a diamond shape, they’ve played a 4-4-2. You have got to have an adaptation to all of those but the reality is that if we keep the ball the way that we do and we are effective with that, it’s a big pitch and there’s a lot of space where you can exploit Reading but they can do the same. We have a plan either way and we will adapt regardless. If we can dictate the tempo, I think we will put ourselves in a great position.”
Reading are expecting to welcome a record crowd of more than 4,000 to the Select Car Leasing Stadium this weekend. Skinner believes that fans will now travel from far and wide to see Manchester United in action.
He said “I think so, we have English players that everyone wants to see. Even the other day, there were Liverpool fans who wanted to see Tooney (Ella Toone), Alessia (Russo), Mary (Earps) and Keets (Nikita Parris). They come because they are fans of football, even though you are a fan of your team, it’s something that you want to aspire to be (as a young girl). That’s a big draw as well, the players that we have with the results that we have had, the excitement and our fanbase is huge too.
“We have to play our part in growing crowds, regardless of whether we are home or away and we are doing that at home so it’s brilliant to see it away. Fair play to Reading, hopefully, they can continue that for the rest of the season as well and it is not just against us. I hope that we can play a tiny part in the growth of the game and we are doing that currently.”
Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Reading kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday afternoon.
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