By Goal.com News on Friday, 06 November 2020
Category: Goal.com News

'It's not acceptable' - Man Utd head coach Stoney unhappy with late postponement of Everton clash

Ameé Ruszkai

Women's Football Correspondent

The Red Devils were due to face the Women's FA Cup finalists in the Continental Cup in midweek, only for the game to be called off at short notice

Manchester United head coach Casey Stoney has called the late postponement of her side's game against Everton in midweek unacceptable.

It was announced on Wednesday morning through official channels that the Continental Cup tie would not go ahead, with the Toffees citing "safety concerns on site arising from damage caused by high winds" as the reason.

Stoney, however, was less than impressed with the timing of the decision.

"It's not ideal. It's not ideal that at quarter past nine on Tuesday night I find out that I've not got a game the next day, when all day it could have been a problem that was fixed," she said.

"How much effort went into fixing it? I have to ask the question. We've prepared for a game. But I've got a fantastic team, they turned it around quickly and we were back in training the next day. I flipped it, it's got to be a positive. We get an extra day to prepare for Arsenal [on Sunday].

"But at a professional level, it's not acceptable."

Sunday's home match with Arsenal will now be United's first game in three weeks due to the international break, the Women's FA Cup final last weekend and that postponement.

It presents her team with another huge test as they look to bridge the gap to the traditional 'big three' of the Gunners, Manchester City and Chelsea - something they showed their potential of doing on the opening weekend of the Women's Super League season in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

That day, Stoney's side were heavily depleted too, able to put just four outfield players on their bench, making the result and performance against the reigning champions all the more impressive.

"I think you look at our squad in that game and we were lighter. We're definitely stronger now as a squad," Stoney said.

"It's about hunger, it's about belief, it's about mentality. But I'm not naive going into this game. I know Arsenal are excellent.

"They've got players coming back - [Jill] Roord played the other night, Kim Little was on the bench and came on. They've got exceptional players coming back into their squad and obviously Joe [Montemurro] is an excellent manager.

"It's going to be really difficult for us to get what we need out of the game, but I have absolutely 100 per cent confidence in my team.

"I know what we're capable of on our day. We just need to make sure that we work hard to make it our day and execute our game plan."

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Original author: Ameé Ruszkai
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