Marc Skinner outlines exactly what Man United must do to beat SK Brann | OneFootball

Manchester United Women are preparing for one of the biggest matches in their history tomorrow night.

Huge opportunity

The Red Devils have never made it to the Champions League proper but are just one match away from doing so.

They beat PSV Eindhoven 4-0 and Hammarby 1-0 in previous rounds.

Unfortunately, despite having more chances, they fell 0-1 to Norwegian side SK Brann in Berge in the first leg.

United will now face the same opponent at the Leigh Sports Village with everything still left to play for.

Big challenge

Speaking to the club’s official website, manager Marc Skinner gave his thoughts on the size of the challenge ahead.

He stated, “it’s a huge challenge. We have a deficit to overturn but – and I must stress this – we are confident in ourselves.”

Explaining this confidence he asserted, “that’s not arrogance: we work hard. I mean you know us, we work really hard and I believe in this group – we will work hard to find solutions on the night. All we can do is perform, whatever happens.”

Skinner once again reiterated that he felt his side were the better team in Norway but their inefficiency in front of goal let them down.

Elaborating on what he expects on Thursday evening he added, “I want to see this togetherness, this unique team go and face a great challenge in front of our fans because that’s going to be the most important thing for us. We’re going to give it our all and hopefully be excited by the outcome, while taking nothing for granted.”

Skinner argued that hard work was hot-wired into the club and even the city of Manchester itself.

He explained, “I think it’s who we are, it’s part of our DNA. I look at our city as a unique place in the world, where it’s full of connected people who work really hard – you know, the worker bee. People that are just so honest, but creative.”

Skinner added that hard work was a “non-negotiable” in his team but that industry was also mixed with creativity and talent.

What’s more, to defeat Brann he claimed, “we’re going to need absolutely everything, every bit of creativity, every bit of work. We’re going to need everybody in the squad to do their bit.”

Home advantage

United Women have only lost two of their last 22 fixtures at the Leigh Sports Village and that is down to the fantastic support they get according to Skinner.

He elaborated, “our record at Leigh is incredible and that’s because of the fans, that’s because of the energy they bring and we’re going to need them. To win the game, we need to give Brann a tough time and we need to work in unison to give them a tough challenge.”

United face Brann tomorrow evening at 19:00 BST.

Featured image Ben Roberts Photo via Getty Images

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