Sean O'Driscoll convinced Bristol City players they could beat Forest with 3-5-2 system
Bristol City head coach Sean O'Driscoll has revealed how he had to convince his players they could adopt a 3-5-2 system against Nottingham Forest – and still win.
After succeeding Derek McInnes in the Ashton Gate hot-seat, City's new head coach displayed a preference for a more orthodox 4-4-2 formation in games against Leeds, Ipswich, Watford and Blackburn.
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Sean O'Driscoll: Won players over before ordering tactical switch.
But the injury that ruled Louis Carey out of last Saturday's home clash with Nottingham Forest persuaded O'Driscoll to revert to a system last used against Leicester City at Ashton Gate on January 12 – a game the Robins lost 4-0!
Rather than work on the changes on the training ground, O'Driscoll instead opted to drill his players in the basic tenets of defending in the hope that his message would get through.
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Speaking to The Post, O'Driscoll revealed the simple mental approach under-pinning Saturday's 2-0 triumph over Forest.
He said: "The last time this team played with a back three, they got beaten 4-0 by Leicester.
"I've watched the video of that game and I tried to convince them that, when you looked at the statistics, there was nothing much in it, even though Leicester are one of the best sides in the league.
"I told them they had to work on two basic principles. The first was that, when they lost the ball, they had to be in a position to win it back. The second was that, if they could not win it back straight away, they had to be in a position to prevent the opposition from attacking and scoring.
"It is always little things that make the difference in football."
Comments
by andyyandyy
Monday, February 11 2013, 7:48PM
“having been at the gate and watched the game aainst forest I am 99% sure we were playing 4-4-2 for most of it as it looked like Anderson and Peason were playing wide in midfield until we went two up and changed to a 4-5-1”