‘I want us to be better in both boxes’ – Skinner previews Manchester United’s fixture against West Ham | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that his side must be better in both boxes when they play host to West Ham United this weekend.

The Red Devils face The Hammers at The Progress With Unity Stadium in Leigh on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester United go into the game off the back of consecutive league defeats without scoring whilst opponents West Ham United are yet to keep a clean sheet. When speaking in the pre-match press conference, Manchester United boss Skinner said that his side must be better at both ends of the pitch, particularly in the final third.

“It’s one of those things where they might concede but you have to attack them to make them concede,” Skinner said when commenting on West Ham United’s defensive record. “If you watch our games, we’ve been really good in the build-up phases but we need to get back to that invasion part, we need to attack teams when we’re in their final third.

“We expect West Ham to try and frustrate us but still press us high. We’ve got to try and find the answer for that. 

“I want us to be better in both boxes, the little details; defend effectively, are we in the right positions at the right times with the right aggression and then I want to see the front-line invading. If we can have that, I have no doubt that the goals will flow fluidly.”

Going on to give his analysis of West Ham United, Skinner highlighted the threats posed by their front-three whilst also commenting on their collective effort in the defensive side of their game.

He said “Rehanne [Skinner] has been in the league for a long time in different positions and she’s such a diligent coach. I think she will be disappointed with the results but their performances have picked up. Even against [Manchester] City, they were unlucky in moments.

“Their front-three can unpick any defence. They have such quality in the way that they interact, so you’ve got to be really focused when defending against them. They also defend in their block at times, so you have to beat that.

“We have to be ready. Towards the end of the last block, you saw the challenge of the turnaround in games whereas this one, we should be going in fresh and excited. I’m looking forward to the challenge but we know Rehanne; she will have a plan to defend and attack in calculated ways and we have to overcome that.”

Manchester United’s form before the international break was patchy and Skinner says that learnings can be taken forward into the next block.

He said “There are loads of learnings. The [Manchester City] game is just part and parcel of being in the Champions League; the turnaround was one hour, we had one hour to coach the players. We understand that.

“In the Wolfsburg game, we gave away too many simple goals. I think we assisted three of the goals, so that’s something that we need to fix.

“The players are back in today after international duty and that’ll bring great energy. They’ll be ready to fix it and they’ll be ready to go in this game.”

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