Manchester United must ‘disrupt the flow’ of opponents Spurs says Skinner | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Marc Skinner says that disrupting the flow is the key to being successful against latest opponents Tottenham Hotspur.

The Red Devils face Spurs at the Leigh Sports Village this afternoon. The game comes just three weeks before the two sides will contest the Adobe Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

Manchester United won the reverse fixture 4-0 back in December but head coach Skinner is preparing his side for a very different test this afternoon and says that the aim must be to disrupt Spurs’ flow.

“I have respect for what Tottenham have done,” Skinner said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “I always respect every opponent that we play and we prepare around their strengths and weaknesses.

“I think the difference with Tottenham this year is that Robert [Vilahamn] has been able to get those moments where you win a game and all of a sudden, you get that confidence and you get into a flow state. They’ve really benefitted from that this year.

“What we have to do playing against that is disrupt that flow. If you disrupt the flow and get them to think about how they play football then their team cohesion changes and it adapts. This is the psychology of the performance.

“What we know is that it’s not going to be the same as the 4-0 win, I can be sure of that and there were moments in that game where I thought Tottenham were okay. It won’t look like that but we have to have the same energy as we had against Chelsea and we’ve got to try and suffocate Spurs as much as we possibly can. They’ve got top players in good form, their play is progressive and I’m a big fan of what they’ve done this year but we have to find a way of overcoming that with our own qualities.”

Manchester United were perceived to be a ‘top four’ side at the start of the season. That may still be the case, however, there is now strong competition throughout the top half of the Barclays Women’s Super League table with Spurs and Liverpool progressing this season. Skinner believes that the increased level of competitiveness is a sign of what the future will look like.

He said “I think it’s a sign of what’s to come; more teams will do this as more investment comes and the Newco company kicks in. It looks like the league will adapt, evolve, sponsorship will come in and expectations will rise. I think infrastructures will build and it’s only going to get better and better.

“Sometimes, when you lose the head-to-heads, your season can be over but actually, that’s not the case anymore because you’ve always got to be aware of how you play in every game. For a team that’s trying to progress, it keeps you on your toes and that’s really important for a manager because our players have to be ready for every game.”

Manchester United’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur kicks-off at 12pm. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.