Manchester United Women have refound their identity, boss says ahead of latest match

Wednesday 11 December 2024

Maya Le Tissier and her Manchester United teammates are ready for tonight’s clash with Newcastle.

On Sunday they beat Liverpool 4-0, with captain Le Tissier again playing another full 90 minutes.

They now go on to play in their final Women's League Cup group fixture tonight.

Ahead of the game, Manager Marc Skinner said: "We've come off a good performance, one that got us a little bit back to who we are, a little bit more of our identity.

"I think the girls are feeling good from that. I think what people forget is that actually the players feel it themselves when they don't get the results they want. They want to impress and they want to perform and so I think we got back to that, to be honest, against Liverpool.

"It's just that frustration, the fact that they know what they can deliver. I think sometimes it gets to a point where you just put a mental shift in.

"We may have the best defensive record in Europe. Because of the goals Chelsea conceded the other day, we're the best in this league for goals conceded. It's a foundation to build from. We want to attack and we want to defend less by attacking more.

"We're embedding a new midfield, a new way of playing. I thought Hini [Miyazawa] helped that a lot on Sunday and obviously with Grace [Clinton] linked up very well.

"I believe we'll get back to where we are and then even the big games, we've got to put those attacking performances in. We understand that. That's part of our takeaway going into these two games."

He said the Newcastle clash was going to be a tough game.

"We've got to play with the same energy we did against Liverpool with no exceptions, no excuses. If we do that, I think it'll be hard for Newcastle to live with us if we get to that level.

"If we don't then Newcastle will be in the game because they've got qualities and I've been impressed with the way that they've attacked the Championship. They've got big aspirations, but we need to put our performance on them."

FA Cup draw

On Monday, United found out who their first opponents will be in their defense of the Women's FA Cup.

They will play West Bromwich Albion Women on Sunday 12 January at Leigh Sports Village in the fourth round.

West Brom currently play in the FA Women's National League North – the third tier of the women's game in England.

United won the trophy by beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 at Wembley in May.