- Marc Skinner clarifies comments made after draw against Aston Villa
- The head coach responds to reignited fan criticism
- United are up against Leicester City in the WSL this weekend
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner responds to recent criticism from fans following his post-match comments in last weekend's 0-0 draw with Aston Villa in the Women's Super League (WSL).
Despite being unbeaten in the 2024/25 campaign, the club hosted another lacklustre display last Sunday after drawing 0-0 with a winless Aston Villa at Leigh Sports Village. Skinner told the media after the clash that it is "still a new team", a sentiment that United fans did not echo given the fact that this is his fourth season in charge.
Skinner was back in front of the media ahead of his side's WSL meeting with Leicester City this weekend, and was asked to clarify the meaning behind his statement.
"From my perspective, when we talk about a new team, you have key positions on a field which control the focus point," he said. "Phallon [Tullis-Joyce] is now the number one goalkeeper, and I think she's been fantastic. You've got Gabby [George] coming back. We've got Dom [Dominique Janssen] in central midfield. We've got Terry [Elisabeth Terland] down central. So your spine is totally different, and that's where the adaptations have come in. So, the context is seeing really great defensive actions from that. But it just takes a little bit of time to do that. "
United currently occupy fifth spot in the league standings, and despite a questionable string of performances, Skinner was quick to remind everyone that his side are "still unbeaten". We took the draws, which is obviously not what we want, but we're still unbeaten," he added.
The team had a reasonable amount of turnover in the summer, with players such as Elisabeth Terland, Domique Janssen, Celin Bizet, and a returning Grace Clinton all making their way into the starting lineups.
Adding to his explanation, Skinner said he is working with a "new team", justifying the claim with the fact that he believes the side are in a period of "adaptation".
"The reality is that when you put players into a new team, it takes a little bit of time for them to understand the key triggers of each other," he explained. "No matter how many patterns you give, no matter how much you train, there are no excuses. At Manchester United, you've got to try and win games of football. So what I'm just trying to give a little bit of context as to why we're having to solidify."
United fans have made their voices heard at games and on social media, expressing their dissatisfaction towards the side's form under Skinner's management. When asked how he chooses to respond to the outside noise, he explained: "Everybody is entitled to their opinion."
"The reality is, there's always noise. Good, bad, indifferent. You have to focus on performance, and that's what we're going to get back to doing.
"I'm not giving my team excuses, and they're not giving me excuses. I've never given excuses, I've just given the context, and this is how it works. We just have to be better, and that's the part and part of being a Manchester United manager, you have to challenge yourself. You have to challenge your players to be better every single day.
"We're trying to win the cups, and when we're in the league race, we're trying to win the league. So how realistic that is, only the end of the season will tell that. But what we will do every day is fight hard to make sure our performances are better, and if we're trying to win games before, and that's all we can focus on. "
