Second best won’t do for Manchester United against Chelsea says Skinner | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that his side are not going into the Subway Women’s League Cup final to be second best.

The Red Devils take on trophy holders Chelsea in the showpiece at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate on Sunday afternoon.

Chelsea recently defeated Manchester United 2-1 in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup and will be favourites to lift the Subway Women’s League Cup again. When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner said that his side are not going to Bristol to simply compete, the aim has to be to win.

“We played Chelsea in our last game, so we know how tough they are,” Skinner said. “We’ve played them in finals before and haven’t come up with the win, so we know how difficult it is.

“We are not going into this final to be second best. We have to go into it and try and win the cup, that’s what we are here for and why you’re at Manchester United. You have to understand that there’s difficulty in that challenge but that’s what we are here for.”

Going on to discuss the qualities needed to win the tie, Skinner highlighted the importance of capitalising in the key moments.

He said “In finals, it comes down to the spirit, connection and commitment of a team when it goes to those moments where momentum changes in games. We will have the ball, Chelsea will have the ball and from our perspective, it really is about that engrained spirit and belief in the moments that matter where we have to come up. That’s what I’m going to ask the players to do and that’s what we are going to try and do together.”

Manchester United have had a three-week break since their last match. The majority of the squad have been on international duty and Skinner is keen to avoid overloading his players with information.

He said “Having this amount of time, it looks like three weeks but actually, you don’t really engage with the players when they’re on international duty.

“You can be a culprit of giving too much information in such a short period of time. The hardest thing for me is whittling down the right information into the right space, so that the players can really [plan]. 

“The players will play on instinct in finals regardless, so they’ll have the game plan. What I’ve got to make sure is that they feel like they’re in a great space, so that when they go into the game, when the plan happens and then it has to adapt, they just know they’re ready. It’s readiness and preparation.”

The 2025/2026 Subway Women’s League Cup final kicks-off at 2.15pm on Sunday afternoon. Limited tickets remain available and can be purchased by clicking here.