Manchester United boss Skinner wary of the threat of developing Everton side | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner acknowledges the development of latest opponents Everton and he is wary of the threat that they pose to his side.

The two clubs meet at the Leigh Sports Village this afternoon as they contest their latest Barclays Women’s Super League fixture.

Manchester United have chalked up two routine victories in their previous meetings with The Blue Girls this season but head coach Skinner expects Everton to have improved further since those games.

“For sure, it’ll be a real challenge,” Skinner said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “I know that Brian (Sørensen) wasn’t really happy with the performance (in the reverse fixture) but we did a lot to control that game. In the cup game, they had some moments, especially in the second half after we had already kind of blown them away in the first half.

“I’ve been really impressed with what Brian has done, I think that they have worked extremely well with the resources that they have and they have some really exciting players.

“This is a team that can go and take points off any other team in this league and they have shown that. For us, this is something that we have really got to put our minds to and try and overcome a really tough opponent.”

Given Manchester United’s position at the top of the Barclays Women’s Super League table and their near-perfect home record, it would be understandable if visiting clubs to the Leigh Sports Village have an added incentive to take points. Skinner went on to say that his side don’t feel added pressure and that the fans have helped turned their home ground into a fortress.

He said “I’ve been at clubs before where I have felt that problem where being at home is not an advantage but I don’t feel that here. Our fans are super-supportive but they expect to be entertained, they expect strong resilience and to win football matches all of the time. That’s not pressure because that’s what we expect of ourselves but the reality is that we have turned it into a fortress because of them.

“We don’t fear that at all, we love going to play at Leigh Sports Village. For us, it is just an added excitement at the end of the week to play there. We know that any team that comes to our ground will have a very difficult day and better be at their best in order to get something.”

Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Everton is scheduled to kick-off at 12pm. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.