Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that winning silverware is the ultimate goal and that the club are building for success.
The Red Devils will hope to take another step towards a Wembley final this weekend when they face second tier club Durham in a Vitality Women’s FA Cup fifth round tie at the Leigh Sports Village.
Manchester United are enjoying a successful season so far and head coach Skinner knows the importance of capping it off with some silverware.
“It’s the only thing that people remember (winning trophies),” Skinner said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “Performance is important but we are only doing this to try and win, there is no point us performing outstandingly then not winning anything.
“We are in this to try and win it and we know how difficult that will be. We don’t have a right to win it, we are playing against Durham who we have to beat, we didn’t beat them last time around. We have got to earn that right first then see who we get, see if we get any luck of the draw.
“For us, what is clear is that this team is building for success but so are other teams, they are investing. We need to have our edge but it is something that we take very seriously.”
Skinner has faced Durham twice in his time as Manchester United head coach, drawing both games after 90 minutes. Those fixtures were played in the North East whereas this weekend’s tie is back home in Leigh. Skinner knows that playing at the Leigh Sports Village can be an advantage for his side.
He said “We know how much of an advantage Durham have at home with the energy of the crowd, the pitch and the energy that the team have. It is a difficult place to go.
“If you look at our record at home, it is exceptional, it is a real fortress for us and we are hoping to use that to our benefit.
“We don’t underestimate any opponent, Durham will still have all of the same threats; some wonderful delivery qualities, a set piece threat and pace on the counter attack. I’m very aware of all of that but we are at home and it is a little bit different. We expect to put our qualities into play and then Durham will have to react to them so lets see how they deal with that.”
The Vitality Women’s FA Cup fifth round tie between Manchester United and Durham is scheduled to kick-off at 12pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
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