The good news is that, with the January window just around the corner, United are still in a good position despite these challenges. That's something Skinner and his players deserve immense credit for. Yes, they have lost some ground in the WSL because of those defeats to Villa and Man City, but they are still in a Champions League spot, which is important.
In the Champions League, meanwhile, they are still in the automatic qualification places, on goal difference. It's not going to be easy to hold onto that position, with games against Lyon and Juventus representing a tough end to their league phase schedule, but they have given themselves a great shot at going through at least via the play-offs, if not the top four.
As was the case in the summer, the club has a real opportunity in January to give this team the boost it needs to get to that next level. What United have done to this point, with this squad, is fantastic, but the fragility of the situation has been highlighted for all to see in recent weeks.
The Red Devils need reinforcements in January. It's something Skinner has made clear and something all on the outside can quite obviously see. Now, it's up to the club to deliver the support this team needs to go from being a very good team capable of challenging, to a great team capable of doing something special.