Skinner calls for a Manchester United ‘growth moment’ against Chelsea | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that it is important for his side to use their final fixture of the season against Chelsea as another growth moment.

The Red Devils have had a somewhat disappointing league campaign but they have added their first major domestic trophy this season in the form of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup while they recently recorded a first-ever win against this weekend’s opponents Chelsea.

The destination of this season’s Barclays Women’s Super League title could hinge on what happens in Manchester United’s fixture against Chelsea at Old Trafford. Defeat for The Red Devils is likely to see neighbours Manchester City miss out on the title to Chelsea.

When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Skinner said that he is looking at the ‘Manchester United narrative’ of the occasion and that his side must use the game to benefit their own growth.

“There are loads of narratives depending on which angle you look at,” Skinner said. “I’m sure Chelsea feel the same way, City will feel different and we will look at it another way.

“It’ll be a top game, we all know how hard it is to play against Chelsea. Even in the FA Cup semi-final where we won, there were moments where we had to dig deep and defend. Chelsea can attack any team across the land.

“We have got to be at our very best. Hopefully, it’ll be a showpiece for us coming off the back of an FA Cup win, showing everybody the experiences that we have had. We need to use it as a growth moment again, that’s really important.

“Sometimes, the disappointment of not winning things can spur you on. Having success at the weekend and then coming into a big game like this hopefully gives us that impetus. It’s a platform that we want to build from rather than any other narrative. It’s a Manchester United narrative for us and we know what we’ve got to try and do.”

The game sees Emma Hayes take charge of Chelsea for one final time before taking up a new position as head coach of the United States. Skinner offered his best wishes to Hayes and says that Manchester United must keep building their big game experience to challenge the South West Londoners’ achievements in the future.

He said “The way that she has managed a successful group, a hungry group, to keep them hungry over a period of time is very difficult to do. She deserves a lot of credit for that because she has got to keep people right on the edge of performance in order to win this league specifically. She has been unrivalled in that for many years. We will miss that quality in the league but I wish her the very best.

“From our perspective, in order to emulate that, we have to continue to grow the squad, we have to continue to grow the experiences. Games like the FA Cup final will help, it has to help but we’re not there yet. For any team to emulate what Chelsea have done over a period of time, you have to be almost perfect and we have to chase that.

“The experiences of the other day will definitely help build that passion again, that commitment and belief. You need belief in the big games that you can win them, that will be a deciding factor.”

Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Chelsea at Old Trafford kicks-off at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.