It was a frustrating trip to the capital for Marc Skinner’s Manchester United side as The Red Devils fell to a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.
Lauren James haunted her former side, netting a hat-trick and increasing the pressure on Manchester United boss Skinner in the process.
Skinner has been the target of some heavy criticism in recent weeks but despite his side’s difficult season, he says that he has ‘no doubt’ in what he is going to achieve with Manchester United over the long-term.
“We were brilliant last year, we were almost faultless,” Skinner said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “This year, we are going to be judged by the same mantle, we are going to judge ourselves by the same mantle. We want that competitive nature, we want to be winning games of football and sometimes, you have to continue to reflect.
“I have no doubt where our team are heading. I have no doubt that we are going to push and push to be one of the most successful teams in the league.”
Today’s loss puts Skinner’s side in a very precarious position heading into the halfway point of the season. The Red Devils are now trailing today’s opponents, the Barclays Women’s Super League leaders by 10 points. Skinner reflected on the situation that Manchester United find themselves in, insisting that his side will refuse to roll over come the season’s second half.
He said “Ten points, I get it. We’ve now got 10 points to chase, so regardless of where we end, we have that energy to chase those 10 points. If I know anything about this team, it’s that they’re going to have that energy.”
Skinner went on to discuss a contentious incident in the game. Leah Galton went down in the box amidst a challenge with Ashley Lawrence in the fixture’s final threshold. The Manchester United boss spoke passionately about what his thoughts were on the incident.
“Leah hasn’t dived,” he said. “It’s a big part of the game, if we get that, there’s a chance we make it 2-2 and then we are in the ascendancy.”
The Manchester United boss’ recent onslaught of criticism from a section of the fanbase resulted in an array of ‘Skinner Out’ banners being displayed in the away end at Stamford Bridge. When asked about the incident, Skinner reacted calmly.
He said “The fans are absolutely entitled to do what they want, we are never going to silence any fan from having their opinion. For me, if my job as a leader was to deflect my attention away with every news story, I wouldn’t be doing my job.
“My job is to stay solely focused on what I know this team will achieve in the future, I have no doubt about that. You can tell when a team is ready and fighting; that team out there second half in the way that we played and the way that we took it to Chelsea, that for me shows a team who knows where they’re headed.”
Manchester United are back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Manchester City in the group stage of the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup.