Manchester United Women have so far played two pre-season matches against Leicester City and Newcastle United.
They are still waiting for their first win, but the players are making positive strides as they get used to new manager Eva Olid’s style of play.
Captain Maya Le Tissier sat down and spoke to the club’s official channel MUTV after the match against Newcastle before leaving Spain.
Newcastle match
Reflecting on the match against the Magpies, she claimed, “yeah, it was hard. It was very hot in this heat, but it was good. I think it was such a better performance than our last game, and that’s what we want to do — keep on performing better each game that we have and trying to build relationships and play the way that Eva wants us to play.”
Olid has used numerous players across both pre-season matches, and Le Tissier commented on what this situation is like to play in.
Le Tissier asserted, “yeah, I think it’s always a challenge, to be honest, to play with different players in this system. I think that’s definitely something that we can work on, but it’s a fantastic opportunity for everyone to show what they can do.”
She also claimed that everyone has a “fresh start” at the club, and it is important that they all get on the same page as quickly as possible.
Connections
Reflecting on the best part of the trip to Spain, she asserted, “I’d definitely say the games. I think I love playing games, so it’s obviously great. And just getting to know everyone as well — welcoming the newcomers in, learning about each other, I think that’s really good and getting those connections.”
The captain added that a nice thing about pre-season is spending all day with your teammates and hanging out with people that you normally do not.
She explained, “I think that togetherness off the pitch can really show on the pitch. You want to fight for each other. You want to work hard and win the ball back when your mate loses it.”
Working under Olid
Finally, Le Tissier gave her thoughts on working with her new coach, and she stated, “I think every manager that we have, myself and the team want to do the best we can for them and to really use that knowledge as well to get better each game.”
She added, “I think there’s a lot of things that we can work on, and yeah, Eva, I think she loves football, so there’s a lot of things we can learn from her.”
Featured image Jan Kruger via Getty Images
