Skinner ready for physical test when West Ham United face Liverpool | OneFootball

West Ham United head coach Rehanne Skinner is preparing her side for a physical battle against Liverpool this weekend.

The Hammers play host to The Reds at The Chigwell Construction Stadium in Dagenham on Sunday afternoon.

Matt Beard’s Liverpool have built a reputation for being the most physical side in the Barclays Women’s Super League and West Ham United boss Skinner knows exactly what her team will face this weekend.

“Ultimately, you know what you’re going to get against Liverpool,” Skinner said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “They’re the most physical team in the league, so you can expect that side of the game.

“We want to compete with everybody, so we have to make sure that we are in a position to deal with whatever the game throws at us.”

Three of West Ham United’s opening four league matches involve long road trips therefore Skinner is thrilled to be back on home soil this weekend.

She said “We are delighted [to be at home]. We’ve got three North West trips out of the first four games, so getting in-front of our fans this weekend will be a delight for everybody.

“It’s great that we’re going to be back at Chigwell. Last year, from January onwards, the way that everything changed with how things were operating behind the scenes within the club just really started to make it feel properly like home.

“It’s so important to have that home mentality, that advantage; it’s your place where you want everyone to not want to come to. That’s what we want to create and our fans did a fantastic job at doing that last season. I can’t wait to get back in-front of them again and the players are really excited for this weekend.”

Forward Riko Ueki netted six goals in 22 Barclays Women’s Super League outings for West Ham United last season. She was on target in both matches against Liverpool. Skinner says that The Hammers are working hard to improve their attacking relationships this season which may allow the player to increase her goal involvements.

She said “I think she really started to thrive at the end of the season. It took a little bit of time to get people in and around her that understand how she plays. We still have some work to do on that and that has been a focus now that we have got everybody in the building. We have been trying to make sure we connect those dots a little bit better.

“Her movement is phenomenal. We don’t always see it and we are trying to build those connections across the team a little bit better. That will then give us as a collective more opportunities because she is capable of assisting as well as being effective in that sense.

“She’s a top player that we want to try and utilise even more and put into positions where she can be even more effective.”

West Ham United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Liverpool kicks-off at 3pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.