‘It’s going to be an intriguing tie’ – Manchester United boss Skinner previews Spurs clash

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner is anticipating a fascinating encounter when his side face Tottenham Hotspur at the Leigh Sports Village this afternoon.

The Red Devils go into the match with a 100-percent winning record in this season’s Barclays Women’s Super League while opponents Spurs have continued their reputation of being one of the most exciting teams in the division.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner highlighted the fact that both teams are dangerous on the attack and that will make for a very interesting game.

“It’s difficult for them, I’m still unsure about Liverpool’s penalty [last week],” Skinner said when commenting on Spurs’ latest result, a 3-2 home defeat to Liverpool. “There’s contact but I don’t know, you can argue either way. To lose the game on that will have been difficult for them but they’ve been clear with their attacking principles.

“Robert [Vilahamn] has spoken about the eight goals [scored so far]. They’re attacking, they’re creating chances, they’re creating opportunities and I’m sure that they will against us. We’ve got to make sure we are in good defensive positions and we do things properly. Equally, we can score goals as well.

“It’s going to be an intriguing tie. I won’t ever take Tottenham lightly; I give every team the respect that they deserve and this is a team that can score goals, can create chances and has great counter-attacking ability and we’ve got to try and control that as much as possible.”

Having recorded three wins and three clean sheets in all competitions, Skinner said that his team are on the right track and that he has been pleased with what The Red Devils have shown so far.

He said “We are in a good space. We are still learning and there are still parts of our game that are not smooth. 

“I’ve been happy with our clean sheets, that’s huge for us. We are embedding a new goalkeeper into a starting position, we are embedding new defenders, new midfielders and new forwards.

“I’ve been really pleased with the fact that the girls have taken it on, they’ve got a real good chemistry with each other as well and we’ve already played some really exciting stuff. In training, I’ve seen some little connections between players that haven’t played together before and that’s really important.

“I’ve been pleased with it. It’s still our style but I think we’ve seen individuals do things differently.”

Midfielder Grace Clinton will come up against her former teammates this afternoon after enjoying a successful loan spell at Spurs last season. Skinner has been pleased with her out of possession work since returning to Manchester United.

He said “With Grace, when we identified her as a 16-year-old, we knew she had the brain with the ball and it was something that we could keep sharpening. Where I felt she needed to improve was off the ball.

“Even after scoring two goals, off the ball, I’ve been so impressed with her intensity, her intelligence; she’s very clever with how she cuts her lines and presses. That’s the biggest take home, off the ball, I’ve been really impressed.

“I’ll judge her game right now off the ball because once she does that properly, it’s just second nature that you’ll see the incredible footballer that she is.

“I’m also going to balance Grace. She’s still young, she’s still growing back into our team but even since she’s been back, she’s seen what I ask in terms of intensity without the ball; it’s part and parcel of being Manchester United, you’ve got to be able to attack and defend at the same time.”

Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur kicks-off at 12.30pm. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.