Doncaster Rovers: Players determine whether a system works insists Darren Ferguson

Blaming formations and systems for poor results is the easy way out according to Doncaster Rovers boss Darren Ferguson.
Darren FergusonDarren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson

Much has been made of the regular switch Ferguson has made between 3-5-2 and a 4-4-2 diamond since his arrival at the club last October.

But the Rovers boss believes the manner in which players implement a system is much more important than the system itself.

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“I think people look at systems too much,” Ferguson told The Star ahead of today’s clash with Yeovil Town at the Keepmoat.

“It’s the easy thing to do to say if it’s not going well, it’s the system.

“I don’t believe that. I believe that whatever system you play, it’s about whether the players know it and can carry it out.

“My players know the systems we use and we work well on it.

“It’s about implementing your system against whatever system the opposition are playing and doing it in the right way.

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“Certainly, for the first game and a half this season, we didn’t do that and it caused us problems.

“It always will cause you problems if that’s the case.”

Rovers began the season with a 3-5-2 system, losing to Accrington Stanley and drawing with Crawley Town.

Ferguson has deployed a 4-4-2 diamond in Rovers last two games, which have brought 1-0 wins over both Cambridge United and Cheltenham Town.

He insists the switch was made due to the loss of Niall Mason to injury, rather than a belief Rovers were not performing in a 3-5-2.

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“After Mason’s injury, there was no questions I was going to go to a back four,” Ferguson said. “Predominantly for us it’s been a three at the back or a diamond midfield.

“As long as they know both, how to defend and attack in both, that’s really what I’m looking for.

“I think against Accrington, we were too attack-minded in the three at the back and against Crawley we were too defensively minded. We ended up too lopsided which I didn’t want.

“It’s just getting the balance right and we always have a change we can make within games.

“The back four that starts on Saturday could easily become a back three without making any substitutions.

“We’ve worked on that a lot.”