West Ham United women’s team manager Rehanne Skinner has made her admiration for the FA Cup very clear.
Her side host Liverpool on Wednesday night in the fourth round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, with the winners set to travel to Rugby Borough on Sunday 9 February.
The Hammers are full of confidence heading into the tie following their 2-0 dispatching of Everton in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday, which came four days after victory against Tottenham Hotspur in the Subway® Women’s League Cup quarter-finals.
Similar to the League Cup, Skinner is hoping to go on a run in the FA Cup this term, as she acknowledged its importance in the English game, highlighting that some of her earliest memories of football are of the historic competition.
“For me personally, and I think it’s the same for everyone, the FA Cup is something you love from being a child, and it creates probably the most noise in football, in a good way,” said Skinner.
“The FA Cup is such an important stalwart in English football club culture. Everyone always wants to go on a cup run.
“I love the FA Cup, and our game against Liverpool is something that everybody is looking forward to. We’ve explained about the competition to the players who are from abroad, because everyone’s got their own versions of competitions that stand out in their country.
“We’ve explained about the historical nature of the competition and that it’s not just a cup, it’s got this real background and history to it.
“The league is huge for us, but this is an opportunity to hit the ground running in the FA Cup. We want to make sure we give a good account of ourselves and try to go on a cup run, and to add to the improvements made over the course of the season as well.”
The cup tie will be the first of two meetings in five days between the Hammers and Matt Beard’s outfit, who will go toe-to-toe at Totally Wicked Stadium on Sunday in the WSL. And Skinner knows the Reds will pose a tough test for her side after the two teams drew 1-1 in September.
“We know it’ll be competitive and a tough game, we always expect that against Liverpool - their physical side is always evident," she said. "But it’s at our home pitch and it’s an FA Cup game, and we want to progress.
“We face them [Liverpool] twice in a very short period, and we’ll be aiming to put in good performances in both games.”