Eva Olid says candid conversations after Manchester United Women’s 5-0 defeat to Chelsea helped spark a change in the team, with Charlton Athletic next up at The Valley on Sunday, 18 October.

The United head coach identified those discussions as the point when players and staff began to understand each other better. The Peoples Person reported her comments from a pre-match press conference published on 17 October, ahead of the Reds’ return from the international break.

The improvement was reflected in the results that followed, including a third consecutive league win against Durham.

From opening defeats to a winning run

Olid acknowledged that taking charge midway through pre-season, amid coaching changes, made for a difficult start. United lost their first two listed matches, going down 2-1 to London City Lionesses and then 5-0 at home to Chelsea.

A 1-1 draw away to Arsenal followed, before four consecutive victories: 10-1 against Sheffield United in the WSL Cup, 2-1 against West Ham, 5-1 against Durham in the cup and 1-0 against Liverpool. That stretch includes three successive league wins, though the cup scorelines offer a reminder that not every result came against WSL opposition.

Olid said the international break was not simply time away from the pitch. She stayed in Manchester and used it to reorganise staff responsibilities and working methods, describing the pause as an opportunity to get things in place and begin again with renewed energy.

🔴 Follow Stretty News on Google as a preferred source and be first with every United update.

Olid points to greater connection

“After the Chelsea game, we had those honest conversations, and I think you could see the change against Arsenal and in the following matches. I feel that we are now more connected. That doesn’t mean we will always have good days, but we have a better understanding of each other,” Olid said, as reported by The Peoples Person.

That qualification matters. A response to a heavy defeat can lift a side in the short term, but Olid’s explanation is about more than momentum: she believes the players have a clearer understanding of one another. The sequence of results backs up the timing of the change she describes, without proving on its own that the cohesion will hold through every test.

Her comments on the coaching group point to another part of the reset. Olid said she values staff with different profiles and personalities, and described José Herrera as someone with a similar mentality and strong tactical knowledge. Olid’s attacking approach is another element she is working to establish, but the source does not suggest that a single tactical adjustment explains the turnaround.

The opening losses, in her account, became a learning experience for the team as well as for her. There is still little basis for firm conclusions about availability: the players had only returned to Carrington on Friday, and Olid said she did not yet know who had recovered or whether there were fresh injury concerns.

She also said captain Maya Le Tissier returned from international duty in a positive mood after scoring her first international goal. Olid had watched her games and spoke with her about enjoying the attacking side of her role, while making clear she preferred Le Tissier in her usual position.

Charlton provide the next test

Olid expects Charlton to return from the break with energy and to see the fixture as a chance to pursue their first win. She warned that United must be ready for a difficult match, adding that the sides probably have different styles of play.

The challenge now is to take the understanding Olid describes into a fresh block of games. She wants United to carry the positive energy from their recent results into Sunday’s contest, where Charlton will test whether the response to Chelsea has become something more durable.