Manager Marc Skinner insists Birmingham City Ladies will not just be there to make up the numbers on SSE Women’s FA Cup final day against Manchester City.

Skinner’s side knocked out 2015 champions Chelsea in the semi-finals after a dramatic 4-2 victory on penalties last Monday, England international Ellen White scoring the winning kick to send the Midlands side into raptures.

Birmingham, cup winners in 2012, go into the Wembley showpiece as underdogs against a Manchester City side widely tipped to add to their growing cabinet of silverware, which includes last year’s  FA WSL 1 title and the Continental Cup.

However, City have knocked out Chelsea and Liverpool en route to the final, and Skinner has full confidence his players can go one step further on the hallowed turf.

“There’s going to be a balance, if we let the occasion get to us too much, it becomes bigger than it needs to be,” said Skinner. “We’re not just there to take part.

“Manchester City are a fantastic team, they really are. They won the league last year, but we’ve had to beat some top sides to get to where we needed to be.

“We’re not just there to make up the numbers, we’re there to try and win the cup.

“I’ve got a lot of friends who have been in big situations in football, and they always say enjoy the moments, because you can never guarantee when you’re going to get them again.

“We’ll enjoy the moment, the build-up, the press, the hoo-ha behind everything, but when it comes down to it, we’ll get down to business.”

Despite the looming date in the diary, Skinner is adamant the final is in the back of his mind following the FA WSL 1 Spring Series opener against Sunderland on Sunday.

Focusing on the Series, Skinner says, will fine tune the team and develop the brand of football he is hoping to introduce since taking the reins at City in December following Derek Parker’s resignation after five years at the helm.

“I’ve not got any eyes on the final yet,” he said. “I’ve got games before them and it started with Sunderland. My eyes are solely on the task in hand.

“We actually play Manchester City the week before the final, in midweek, then we play Liverpool at St Andrews, then on to Wembley.

“We’ve put that on hold for now, and the Spring Series is a really good way of improving our way of playing going forwards.

“Birmingham have always been a team that sits around mid-table and then push on.

“We’ve had a couple of second-place finishes in recent times, we’ve been in cup finals and in 2012 we won the SSE Women’s FA Cup, so we’ve been in and around there.

“However, it can be questioned that we didn’t have the most attractive style of football – that’s something that we’re really focusing on here.

“These girls can play – they really can. It’s not just a cliché, and we’re hoping to bring that out.

“But what we’ve also shown in the previous games is that we’ve got some resilience. Clean sheets is a pride for us.”

Tickets are now on sale for the SSE Women’s FA Cup Final on Saturday 13th May at Wembley Stadium connected by EE. For the second consecutive year, kids go free to the final, tickets can be purchased here:   https://ticketing.thefa.com/