Warne won't be precious about a system or style, only winning
Dons have tried several different setups so far this season
Whether it is three or four at the back, Paul Warne is not precious about how he wins football matches.
While previous managers have been staunch in their systems, fixed in their formations and trapped by their tactics, the MK Dons head coach is showing he is more than willing to give his side an entirely new brief based on those available to him.
It does not always go to plan though. Rolling the dice with a classic 4-4-2 against Grimsby last month, Dons found themselves three goals and a man down inside the opening 40 minutes. Appearing initially keen to play with a back four this season, Dons have switched to a back three in recent weeks, a change which has brought about four consecutive wins in League Two, sending them up to second in the table.
“In my previous job, we played three different systems,” Warne explained. “It’s about picking the best players to win a game. Systems play a part, but it’s down to the individuals within it.
“You have to pick the players who suit the way you want to play. You need an element of entertainment but you also have to produce to get you into the top three.
“We knew with the (injury) problems we’ve had, we’d be more stable with a back three, and fortunately that has come to fruition. But that doesn’t mean I’ll pick that same system again next weekend.”
With football beginning to turn its back on the possession-based styles which have dominated the game's thinking for the last 15 years or so, the old-school feel of a 3-5-2 or indeed a 4-4-2 is starting to edge back into prominence once more.
And that is something which Warne is delighted about.
He continued: “I love a 4-4-2, and would love it if everyone played it so we wouldn’t look outnumbered in midfield! Against Grimsby, we had a really good chance at 4-4-2 and then we got punished, but that doesn’t mean we won’t go back to it. And just because we’ve had good results in a 3-5-2, doesn’t mean I won’t change it in a heartbeat.”
As a defender playing in the system, switching between a four and a three, Marvin Ekpiteta admitted the current method is paying dividends, but said the side are capable of fitting into and indeed winning with both.
He added: “I feel like it has made a difference for us. Where we were at the time, I think it suits us a bit more playing in a three, but I still feel like we’ve had some good games playing as a back four, we’ve just been a bit unlucky with results.
“It’s good that we can play in both ways and get the results we want in both setups.”