Marc Skinner predicts a great FA Cup final between Manchester United Women and Tottenham Hotspur | OneFootball

Manchester United Women’s manager Marc Skinner predicts a fascinating encounter between his side and Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup final tomorrow.

Since the reformation of the women’s team in 2018, there has been a meteoric rise but there is still no major trophy to go with the progress. This Sunday provides the chance to right this wrong, especially after losing last year’s final to Chelsea.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, the United coach claimed what a big opportunity it is for his players and the club as a whole.

“You’ll have added silverware to Manchester United and that’s successful wherever you are as a club. There are things that we have learnt from this season that we already know the answers to and we can fix over the summer, I have no doubt about that.”

“When you’re at the end of the season, you want to finish it the best way that you can. We’ve got two finals to go, one at Old Trafford and obviously the Wembley one this weekend.”

The former Birmingham coach then took the opportunity to praise his opponents for the match and denied that his side are the favourites for the match, despite being seven points ahead of their opponents in the Women’s Super League table.

“It’s going to be difficult because Tottenham deserve to be in the final and I’m not having the underdog status but if we can add silverware, particularly for our fans, I think that’ll be hugely important going forward.”

“Tottenham have players that have experienced finals before, so you know those players won’t be overawed.”

When discussing what style his side will implement against Spurs, he claimed it would be different from the more physical approach adopted in the semi-final against Chelsea.

“Style is what the game will need. There will be times in a final where if you are losing, you’ll have to throw caution to the wind, if you’re winning, you may have to be more reserved. I think this game will have a bit of everything for both teams.”

The United coach then took the opportunity to mention how this season has shown what an exciting time it is in the women’s game in England.

“I think this season in general, forget the FA Cup for a second, I think in general the competition, the competitiveness of the league has been far more and what it kind of reminds you of is that you can’t stand still and you must keep progressing, keep evolving because if you don’t, you can get left behind.”

“For us, I think the investment in the league, the, the excitement of what’s to come, I only think it’s going to get better. And I think women’s football is an exciting place to take that forward.”

Skinner then lavished praise on one of his stars, Nikita Parris. There was a recent report that suggested she had turned a lucrative move to the United States last month, prioritising her team’s bid to win the FA Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Commenting on the forward’s contribution to United he claimed, “what I can promise you is that Nikita has always and always will remain a focused, fantastic player. Look at her numbers this year. Look how she’s played. Look at the role model she is.”

“You can tell she’s 100 per cent committed to what’s going on at Manchester United, and from my perspective, that is something that will come every single day. Having players like Nikita in our team is hugely important for our success going forward. She’s a fantastic player for Manchester United.”

Finally, the manager was able to deliver some positive news heading into tomorrow’s massive encounter. “As far as we’re aware as we sit right now, everybody – barring the longer-term injuries – is available so that is positive news. Everybody’s available for the squad and that’s nice going into a final.”

Skinner and United will be hoping they can get the monkey off their back and cap a disappointing season in the finest way possible by bringing the famous trophy back to Manchester.

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