Continuation of recent form the target for West Ham United in Leigh says Skinner | OneFootball

West Ham United manager Rehanne Skinner says that her side’s focus is to continue their recent form from before the latest international window.

The Hammers have travelled to Leigh ahead of their latest Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Manchester United this afternoon.

After spending the opening weeks of the season bottom of the table, West Ham United collected four points prior to the last international window. When speaking in the pre-match press conference, manager Skinner highlighted the fact that there are lots of positives to be taken forward from the last block.

“There were loads of positives between the last two international breaks,” Skinner said. “Some good results, some good points and obviously, qualifying for the quarter-finals of the League Cup was an important one for us as well.

“We were in a position where we were turning performances into points more than what we were in the first part of the season. Obviously, that was really positive.”

The international break arguably came at the wrong time for The Hammers but Skinner believes that there will be no issues when it comes to continuing from where they left off.

She said “They really want to do well. The players that we have here really are fantastic, they want to win games and work really hard for West Ham. Obviously, they’ve got their commitments to their countries and we support that but they’re ultimate professionals trying to win games.

“We know that we are still in a sticky spot. We want to make sure we get more points before Christmas to get more rewards from some of the performances that we’ve put in.

“I don’t feel like I have a huge amount to do from a motivational piece because they’re motivated to get those points anyway. I guess it’s just the turnaround with the times of flights landing back and the opportunities to get together in preparation for weekend games.”

Opponents Manchester United have a good record against West Ham United in the North West but Skinner says that the focus for her side is to continue their own good recent form.

She said “Marc [Skinner] works really hard on the patterns that he wants to play and the team are really well-versed in how that looks, so they know their jobs. That makes them difficult to contend with, there are some really good players in that group and it’ll make it a really tough game for us on the road. 

“It’s tricky in the North West, it’s always a really tough game, no matter who we play up there. It’s difficult playing against Manchester United in their home ground. We expect them to make life really difficult for us because regardless of recent form, they still have quality to make life tough.

“I think it’s important that we focus on the things that we are doing well and bring that to the table. The focus we have is how we turn up and deliver what we delivered before the last break, so that we can make life as difficult as possible and get something out of the game.”

West Ham United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Manchester United kicks-off at 12pm.