Marc Skinner spoke to the media this morning as Manchester United gear up for a trip to the capital as the Red Devils face Brighton & Hove Albion this Saturday in the quarter final stages of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.

First providing an update on the fitness of the squad, Skinner announced the positive news that “Jayde [Riviere] is now potentially available for the game”. The Red Devils face no further injury woes, as the Manchester United boss confirmed that “barring the long term injuries, everyone else is available and ready for the game.”

Returning off the back of a disappointing stalemate in Sunday’s Barclays Women’s Super League clash with West Ham United, Skinner’s outfit will now turn their attention toward cup football, as they gear up to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.

Since being founded in 2018, Manchester United are yet to add a trophy to their top-flight cabinet, having only narrowly missed the chance at silverware in last year’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.

Reflecting on the intense motivation to find silverware success, Skinner also digested the fact that the expectations arrive at a high price as a result of last season’s stellar campaign.

“The reality is, of course that would be success. You’re winning a trophy, that’s what we want to do for this young club. I must stress that you’re comparing us to the best season that we’ve had in the history of our women’s team. So, of course if you fall short by any means then it’s going to look like a failure.

But, there’s a lot of growth that has happened this year. There is a lot of adaptation that we’ve made, a lot of future planning that we’re already doing going into these next seasons. We get a moment to focus on the FA Cup, and we’ve got to give everything in that. Beyond then, we’ve got to try and perform.”

Manchester United’s latest opponents in Brighton & Hove Albion found a rectification of form in last Sunday’s 7-3 thrashing of Bristol City on the road. The Seagulls have begun to find their feet amidst a situation of managerial madness, as interim head coach Mikey Harris has implemented what Skinner describes as a “Brighton DNA”.

“We know how difficult that’s going to be, they’re [Brighton] a good team. It is different, of course. We faced them directly after Mel [Phillips] had left, so there wasn’t a lot of time to implement Mikey [Harris].

[They play] possession based, so I know that they’re going to try and manipulate us with the ball. We’ve got to be very clever in the way that we defend that, we’ve got to work hard to defend that, because they’re good at it.

You can see them start to progress a little bit in the way that they want to play. It’s going to be an exciting game, and one that we’re not taking lightly by any means.”

Manchester United currently find themselves worse for wear, as the Red Devils now trail European qualification by an ever widening nine-point margin. Despite what may be perceived as a recent trough in form at Carrington, Skinner remains optimistic that his side do not need motivating as the closing straight of the season looms nearby.

“Sometimes it’s better having a team that are self driven in moments, and I think there is a nice blend of that. I don’t feel at this minute that this team need motivating, they are ready to go in to this weekend with all the energy they need to try and progress in this competition.”

Manchester United will travel South on Saturday, as the Red Devils gear up to face Brighton & Hove Albion at 17:15pm.