“I asked the guys if I could just spend a little bit of time in the middle of the pitch to visualise what the players go through.”

Standing in front of 25,500 purple seats, the new Orlando Pride manager Marc Skinner paused to drink it all in. It is a world away from Solihull Moors’ 3,050‑capacity Damson Park, where his former club, Birmingham City women, ply their trade.

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“There’s a famous picture of Andrés Iniesta on the pitch after his last game for Barcelona sitting in the middle of the field and I think he’s just trying to take it in, all the emotions, and think about them and that was what I was trying to do,” says the 35-year-old. “It’s really important for me that we connect with the fans in the stands, give them an identity, I tried to do that at Birmingham, so they feel a part of what we’re doing. This without the Orlando Pride fans is nothing for me.”

The decision to leave his hometown club, where he had worked for 13 years, mid-season, was not easy. Birmingham are fourth in the Women’s Super League, the departure of Skinner perhaps a factor in the latest of their four losses that have left them six points off the top as it came after the announcement of his step across the pond. On top of that he has a new baby with his partner, the former England international Laura Bassett.

But this was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down. “Everybody in England knows I love Birmingham,” says Skinner. “It’s my home city, and I wouldn’t have left it for anything other than a project like this with such wonderful potential.

“It’s mesmerising. Just being here, it’s a different level. I hope it doesn’t affect Birmingham too much, we tried to leave Birmingham in a place where it would be able to be self sufficient and I hope that they show that over the last part of the season. They’ve done so much and there’s a lot of love for them.”

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The love is mutual. It would have been easy for fans and players to be angry or irritated with their outgoing manager but instead, there is sorrow and well-wishing – something that has surprised Skinner. “I think that’s been the most surreal part. I’m in awe of the outreach and outpouring and lovely comments that people have made. I think that’s testament to Birmingham and the fans, they are genuinely happy for people that progress and, look, hopefully they saw the job that we did at Birmingham and think it’s good.”

Orlando Pride turned to Skinner after a disappointing seventh‑place finish in the NWSL led to Tom Sermanni’s departure, and the Englishman believes it is the similarity between the clubs and their ethos that attracted them to him. “There’s such a wonderful vibe around this club. They are like Birmingham, they are family orientated. They have values as a club, it’s not just a cutthroat business and that was really important for me. You have to pick your projects carefully and you have to pick something that fits in with your personality and then I really started to feel what I could bring here.”

Pride come with some big names. The six-time world player of the year Marta is on the roster, alongside her compatriot Camila and Alex Morgan.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest USA forward Alex Morgan is one of a cast of big-name players at Orlando. Photograph: Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

“One thing they all have in common is they all want to win,” explains Skinner, whose arrival means six of the nine head coaches in the league are English. “If they want to win then I have to find out how they work together to bring them towards that common goal and that’s what I’ll make sure that I do.

“I’m all about people before players. I’m going to get to know each individual, I’m going to care for them like I did at Birmingham and once they know that I care for them, once they know that I want success for them, I think it would be a pretty stubborn person that wouldn’t want to buy into that.”

Skinner has form. Before his two years as manager in the West Midlands, he spent 10 years as the club’s technical director. “I think that shaped me. I still think players need developing regardless of their stature, regardless of their experience within the game and their age. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again. I’m able to see the skill set they have and improve it. That’s shaped by my time developing players.”

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He may have arrived during an international break, but Skinner has already started working. “What I do is I send everyone a questionnaire. I want to get to know them before I meet them and then every player will have a one-to-one meeting before we come back to preseason. I’ve already started the groundwork. There’s nothing like standing in front of them and coaching but I’ll get to know them as best I can so I understand what makes them tick.”

That is the most important thing for Skinner. “When they are not feeling well who they would turn to? I need to know all the important people in their lives, the things they value. There are a lot of people that look up to these players but who looks after them? We forget about that, we look about them as commodities and not the people they are. Once we can get that right we’ll be OK.”

Talking points

• The 28-game unbeaten run of the US women’s national team came to a grinding halt as the World Cup holders were defeated 3-1 by France. Two goals from Paris Saint-Germain’s Kadidiatou Diani gave the hosts of this summer’s World Cup the lead. The 20-year-old Marie‑Antoinette Katoto grabbed their third before Mallory Pugh pulled one back for the visitors in injury time.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest France’s Amandine Henry celebrates their second goal. Photograph: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters

• The No 2 pick in the NWSL college draft, Hailie Mace, scored on her debut in the Australian W-League. Having been drafted by Sky Blue, where the poor conditions of player facilities were exposed last season, Mace decided to join Melbourne City to avoid joining the New Jersey side. It took just 12 minutes after coming off the bench for Mace to score in her new side’s 4-0 victory against Newcastle Jets.

• Liverpool have completed the signing of 21-year-old Jemma Purfield. Purfield has graduated from Arizona State University and opted for a move to the WSL. The attacking full back, who can also play on the wing, has played for England youth teams.

• The manager of the Australia women’s national team, Alen Stajcic, has been sacked by the Australian football federation after two confidential player surveys found an “unsatisfactory” team environment. The FFA chief, David Gallop, said: “We no longer have confidence Alen is the right person to lead the team and staff.” Stajcic had been in charge since 2014.