Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner has called for his side to maintain their high-energy level of performance from the second half of their UEFA Women’s Champions League fixture against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.
The Red Devils battled back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with the French side at the Leigh Sports Village on Tuesday evening.
Manchester United return to Barclays Women’s Super League action this afternoon when they play host to Leicester City and head coach Skinner wants his side to continue from where they left off in midweek.
“I don’t want us to come down in all honestly, I want us to play at that level,” Skinner said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “If you set that standard, why not chase it again? The opponent will be different but PSG want to attack you and so do Leicester.
“From my perspective, they are high-energy, high-pressing and will put pressure on us. I don’t want us to come down and I don’t think we should come down. Hopefully, we’re building a squad where the players should want to stay at that level and they are mentally fresh to make an impact. Nikita Parris is chomping at the bit to go, so from my perspective, I have players that I’m asking to stay up there.
“I want us to perform at that level. If we get to that level from the second half (against PSG) on a consistent basis then there’s going to be many teams that can’t deal with what we’ve got.”
Going on to discuss the threat posed by Leicester City, Skinner said that The Foxes will arrive in the North West full of confidence. The Manchester United boss re-emphasised the importance of his side keeping their own performance levels high.
He said “There’s patterns of play and all that kind of stuff but when a team is high in confidence, they are flicking things, moving things and there is no fear, it’s much more in an attacking phase. I can see that in their performance.
“If we can get to the level (we were against PSG), they won’t have played a level like that this season hopefully and that would be a test for them.
“They should be confident and we know Willie Kirk’s character is to attack. Hopefully, a high-level performance leads to what we want which is three points.”
Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Leicester City kicks-off at midday. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
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