“The thing I’m proudest of”: United boss Skinner pinpoints what he adores about his current history-making squad

Manchester United Women will take on Aston Villa Women later today. The Red Devils are on a high after vanquishing Burnley 5-0 in the FA Cup last weekend and defeating Arsenal 1-0 in the semi-final of the League Cup on Wednesday. The result was historic as United made their first ever League Cup final, where they will face Chelsea in March. Villa threat Ahead of today’s game against Aston Villa, head coach Marc Skinner spoke to the club’s website about the challenges Villa will present, having beaten United earlier in the season. He was asked if his side can let his guard down against Villa and he replied, “you can’t. The last time we played them was after a big event — a midweek Champions League game — and they beat us 1–0. So we can’t underestimate them. They’ve shown inconsistencies, but they also have a few injuries, which affects how they play. We have to go at them fully and pay them the respect they deserve. We also need to do things differently than last time — make them work both ways and not let it be as comfortable as it was before.” He was also asked about former United star Kirsty Hanson, who is now starring for the Villans. He replied, “when Kirsty left Manchester United, it was because she needed more consistent game time. She’s always had quality, and going to Villa gave her the space to show that. Last year wasn’t easy for her, but she’s broken into the team now and has the quality to hurt any side. There’s always fondness when we see her, but it was the right move at the time for both her and the club. Hopefully she doesn’t show it on Sunday, but it’s great to see her doing well. We’ll need to defend well against her because she’s a real threat.” Injury update With games coming thick and fast in all competitions, Skinner gave an update on the state of the squad. He added, “they’ve all reported in this morning feeling fine. Other than the four who weren’t included: Freda is still a little bit off, but she’ll train a bit today. Leah, Toone, and Gabby are hopefully back on the field training within the next couple of weeks. Freda and Gabby are close, while Leah and Toone will take a little longer. Apart from that, everyone else is available.” Team spirit Skinner also highlighted that the thing he is proudest about is the team spirit in his squad. He asserted, “the thing I’m proudest of at Manchester United is the team spirit. There’s an element of luck, but it’s also about including the human in the decision-making process. When players feel they have shares in the team, they care more. When we recruited new players, I told them they’d never be in an environment like this.” Skinner also added that his side were not happy with their defensive record before Christmas but have worked hard on this element with three clean sheets in a row to start the new year, two against European champions Arsenal. Finally, he commented that he has changed Jess Park’s position regularly as they need to find ways to include her in the game, especially to step up in the absence of Ella Toone. United will kick off versus Aston Villa at 11.55 GMT later today. Man United Women vs Aston Villa Women record Matches playedMan United winsDrawsVilla winsMan United goalsVilla goals 161231486 Source: aiscore.com Featured image Ben Roberts Photo via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.