Head coach Marc Skinner is hoping for no unwanted surprises this week as his Manchester United side prepare to face SK Brann in the second leg of their third qualifying round of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
When the squad travelled to Norway for the first leg last week, their preparations were upset by some of the players’ boots not arriving with them. It meant some last-minute scrambles to ensure everyone was fully equipped ahead of the game – with a trip to a local sports shop in Bergen to buy boots and shin pads.
But in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday morning, Skinner took questions about the incident in good part.
“They’ve been training with them, so I’d imagine they have them sorted!” he smiled.
“Everything is fine. The players are ready. The players were excellent. They understood. They all had the fixes they needed, they all had the boots they needed for the game. There were no excuses, and they took it really, really well. It’s one of those things you don’t want to happen, but it happens, and to see the players’ reaction was excellent.”
Marc Skinner: Manchester United must take chances
Skinner and his team know that they need to win at Leigh Sports Village tomorrow to progress in the competition, having lost the first leg 1-0. Motivating the squad for such a crucial encounter should not be difficult, and Skinner will not be struggling for the right words in his team talk.
“We will touch on it this morning,” he said. “The reality is there’s an absolute respect for Brann, respect for how they play, what they did against us last time, but also we’re at home, and we’re a dominant team at home, and we must exact that dominance and take the chances. If we do that, then Brann will be in for a long night. If we don’t, then we’ll be in for a long night, so we have to turn up with clarity and be calm and calculated tomorrow.
“If we do that, with the right energy, we can give any team – let alone Brann – a really tough time.”
Skinner confirmed that there were no fresh fitness worries after the weekend beyond Millie Turner, who suffered a knee injury but is currently seeking additional medical opinions on the diagnosis and treatment. However, he did say that the injury was not a ligament tear.
