Gillingham head coach Stephen Clemence switched formation at the weekend and it might be the new way forward.
Clemence has gone against his preferred 4-3-3 set-up during much of his time as the Gills head coach after finding a wing-back system more suited to the players he had inherited.
The signing of wing-back Remeao Hutton in the January transfer window suggested a 3-5-2 system could be there to stay.
But an opportunity came to field a four-man defence again on Saturday after central defender Conor Masterson was forced to sit it out through suspension, having been sent off at Wimbledon.
Clemence had done the same a week earlier at home to Tranmere in the second half. On both occasions, the Gills produced plenty going forward – let down only by the poor finishing.
He said: “I spoke to a couple of players at the start of the week and told them to get themselves ready because I felt they were so good in the second half against Tranmere that it was the way I would go.
“The back five, or back three, has served us pretty well, we have had a decent run of form since Christmas with it but I understand that sometimes you have to change things and I think the change of formation we looked spot on with it.
“I think Grimsby really struggled in the first half to contain us, they started 5-3-2 themselves and went to a 4-5-1 and really blocked it up, they were man-marking Hutton in the end, you could see the opposition were struggling with what we had to offer and we have to make sure we build on that and take the positives from it.
“I have worked with lots of different formations and I am not afraid to change them. We were playing with a 3-5-2 and it served us quite well it’s only in the last week or so it hasn’t.
“I came in here and presented myself as a 4-3-3 man but there is also a culture at the football club where people want to see two people upfront and I get that and I will bend to that, that is no problem.
“I want to see bodies in the box and more front players on the pitch, I don’t want to play possession for possession’s sake, I want to try and play creative attacking football.
“We had to change from 4-3-3 to 3-5-2 earlier in the season and it served us okay but it might be time to change again. We have always got that back three there should we need it, it will depend on what opponent we’re playing.”
Masterson is back from suspension this Saturday for the match at Morecambe and if Clemence sticks with his weekend formation he will have a selection dilemma as Max Ehmer and Shad Ogie are the other two regular centre-halves in the team.
