Man Utd transfer news: Boss drops major signing hint after derby draw

The 38-year-old United boss admitted he was “frustrated with the result, but not the performance” after seeing his side pegged back by rivals Manchester City in Sunday’s clash at the Etihad.

Red Devil’s forward Leah Galton had given her side the lead with a neat finish after 27 minutes but an improved second half display by Gareth Taylor’s side would hand them a share of the spoils thanks to Laura Coombs’ 58th minute equaliser.

And despite dropping their first points since November 6, he admitted the disappointment at taking a point at the Etihad was clear evidence of the progress his side are making.

“They (the team) have came off at the end and they are very disappointed that they have not taken the win. This is a mentality change for our group. Especially in the nature of conceding the goal.

“We know Man City are good in wide areas but we got our positioning wrong. We will fix and address that, but the reality is we’ve come off that field and it’s not like last year where we’ve had to defend for our lives for a big portion of the game. They’ve come off that field and felt they wanted it and needed to win the game.

“It’s a really great menality shift, the result is perhaps the negative from it but the mentality is only going to serve us well in the future. We’ve shown so much growth in the first half of the season. We adapted Man City’s style and that is a big indicator of where we’re trying to head”.

Despite the progress he has seen on the field though, Skinner said he was already planning for the January transfer window as he aims to take his side to the next level.

“There could potentially be ins and outs” he said.

“We do know where we’re going to strengthen and how this team is going to evolve and where it is is going to evolve to. We are in a competitive market now of course, but it helps with performances like today because it shows Manchester United are not here to compete for fourth, we are here to compete in every game regardless of the historical position of every team we play against.

“I must stress that I respect everything Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea do because obviously they’ve won the league - we know how difficult of a job this is and try to bridge that gap, but actually we know and we are planning ahead. We are showing signs on the field of being an exciting team that people will want to come and play for”.