Neill Collins insists Raith Rovers will always be ready to switch formations – but their principles will remain the same.
Collins began life at Stark’s Park favouring a three-man defence before moving to a four at the back.
During Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Partick Thistle he utilised both, changing at half-time from the trio who had performed so admirably in the win over Ayr United to a quartet.
That was designed to get the speed and cutting edge of winger Finlay Pollock onto the pitch at Firhill and the alterations resulted in a stirring second-half comeback from the Kirkcaldy men.
However, Collins is keen not to get too hung up on formations and personnel, and instead focuses on implementing the style of play he wants from his Raith team.
“We want to try and play a certain way,” he told Courier Sport when asked about the recent switches.
“So, whether the formation’s a three at the back or a four at the back, we want the principals to try and remain the same, within reason.
“The fans will see through the season that we will generally go from a three to a four, depending on things like the opposition and who we have available. It’s going to be adaptable.
‘The most important thing’
“But the most important thing is that the performance reflects how we want to be as a team and our principles.
“If you watch a lot of top teams, they’re able to switch between formations.
“But the most important thing is that if you watch Man City, for example, you know what Man City look like, no matter the formation.”
Collins favoured a three-man defence initially during his time in charge at Tampa Bay Rowdies in the United States before keeping opponents guessing.
And, using both in his last job at Barnsley, he is confident he has a versatile enough squad at Raith to handle changes from game to game and within matches.
“At Tampa, for the first two years of my time, we played three at the back, pretty much 95 per cent of the time,” he explained.
“We made tweaks at the top end, but the three at the back stayed quite similar.
“But then, over time, teams didn’t know what we were going to do, because we’d developed it so that we could go to a four or a three quite easily within the game.
“That obviously takes time. But I think the one thing the lads have shown here is a real ability to implement things. If it’s a four or a three, they’re comfortable.”
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