Marc Skinner: Man United Women boss bites back at criticism

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·1. Mai 2026

Marc Skinner: Man United Women boss bites back at criticism

Manchester United Women welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Progress with Unity Stadium as their Champions League hopes for next season continue to fade.

Marc Skinner’s side are currently four points behind Chelsea in second place and would need the Blues to drop points against Leicester City this weekend, before beating their great rivals in the final match of the season.

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Ahead of United’s Saturday match against Brighton, head coach Marc Skinner spoke to the press.

Leah Galton departure

Skinner first addressed Leah Galton’s departure from the club this summer, which was announced earlier this week.

He claimed, “first and foremost, she deserves to be honoured. I’ve worked with a lot of high-level wingers, but I’ve never met a player quite like Leah. Her ability to beat players and her pace — it’s incredible. She’s made a massive impact on this club and leaves a real legacy. She’ll always be welcome back here with her family.”

Brighton

Skinner took the time to praise Saturday’s opponents, Brighton, and in particular their recent form against top teams such as Manchester City and Arsenal.

He stated, “when we go into this game against Brighton, we have to be at that level where we’re attacking and putting Brighton on the back foot. If we do that, then we can win the game. But there’s definitely growth from them, and I’m sure they’ll be happy with where they’re at.”

Injury updates

After the return of Ella Toone in the last match, Skinner confirmed that “everyone else is back, barring Terry (Elisabeth Terland) and Dom (Dominique Janssen), who are back training on the field. It’s probably come a little bit too early for them, so maybe the Chelsea game they could be involved.”

He also confirmed that Galton was training this week and could make a return to the first team on Saturday.

His own future

After a highly successful start to the season, United have fizzled out over the final two months, exiting all the cups and now looking destined to miss out on the top three league places that secure European football.

Skinner’s own future has also come under pressure at times.

The head coach was then asked if he still thinks he is the right person to lead the team forward, and he gave a defiant response.

He retorted, “absolutely. Absolutely — no doubt. From my perspective, you’ve seen the growth of our team over the years that we’ve been alive. If you look at the job we’ve done over that duration, there have been highs and lows — of course there are in any season.”

Skinner also suggested that the board and club were fully behind him, and he claimed, “yeah, absolutely. We’re fully aligned — there’s no doubt about that. Whatever people say about me, I have to focus on performances. I’ve always done that. I’m honest and truthful, and I’ll put myself in that position to make sure we get this team to winning ways.”

Finally, he claimed the key to his side winning the match against Brighton was being more aggressive on the ball and starting to take the chances that they have been creating.