Man Utd Women boss Marc Skinner hits back at criticism after Alessia Russo transfer revelation and with questions being asked of England goalkeeper Mary Earps' future

The Red Devils have been the subject of a special report from The Athletic that lifts the lid on supposedly questionable management behind the scenes – with United reneging on a deal that would have kept England star Alessia Russo at the club, while also running the risk of losing Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps.

Skinner, who has seen his position called into question following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of a 25 per cent stake at Old Trafford, has told The Athletic of attracting unwelcome attention: “We will obviously have conversations around any topic that’s brought to our attention. It would be remiss to say that I wouldn’t do that. But it’s also about balance, that’s really important because we’re never going to report all the good things that happen at our club because nobody wants to hear good news. We need to grow here, there’s no doubt about that. There are things that we’ve done fantastically well in the short six years that we’ve been around, but there are also factors that we can improve.”

Skinner added when asked for some examples of good news stories at United: “We’ve just integrated a new, fantastic building we’ve got INEOS coming into our re-energizing of our club. We are the biggest club in the world that has fantastic things that I see on a daily basis. Our players are progressing, even though sometimes on the field people say we’re not because of the results which we will take ownership for. I see the growth we have in the last two years, two fantastic new pitches. I look at everything that’s being built around the infrastructure for our players. We’re growing steadily, but we’re growing for sure.

“We have psychological and medical support for our players, and a new player liaison officer that comes in. That’s the part we should be concentrating on as well. Just to be clear on that, it’s not about deflecting away from the things that we need to own. I’m not saying that. We have to own the things that we need to get better at. Of course we do. That’s how you grow. But I’ve never been in a high-performance environment that doesn’t accept that. If you know about high performance, it’s not about how many things are always right or wrong. It’s about learning from both areas. How can we get better from this and how can we improve that? And I think that’s what I see from our team every day. And since INEOS have been in as well, particularly, I think that there’s a push towards that performance side and I’m really excited by that.”

Manchester United Women currently sit fourth in the WSL table, 12 points adrift of leaders Chelsea, but do have major silverware to aim at this season as they prepare to face Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.