ZIAN FLEMMING says it is “different” playing behind two strikers and with no wingers as he analysed the effect the switch in formation has had on his game.
While the Dutchman remains in his number 10 berth, the team around him has changed this season with a 3-4-1-2 formation prioritised over a back four.
It means the 25-year-old now plays behind two strikers – normally Tom Bradshaw and Kevin Nisbet – while having no wingers either side of him.
Flemming said the shift in formation has subtly changed things on the pitch for him.
Speaking before the weekend defeat at Leeds United, when he was surprisingly left on the bench, Flemming said: “It is a bit different, to be honest. Because the movement of one striker is more [about] the co-operation – he does one thing and you do the other. There’s a bit more space to run around him.
“Whereas with two strikers, they do that themselves and then you are the third one. So instead of filling one gap, you’re now trying to fill in the first man and the second man’s gap. It’s not a massive difference but it is different.
“The biggest difference I think lies more in not exactly just playing behind one or behind two. The difference is if you’re playing behind one striker most of the time you’ve got really high wingers on the side.
“And now, if we play with the five at the back, we play with not wingers but wide men who arrive in those positions instead of already standing there. Obviously, it’s different because it’s a different system but it’s not massively different. You have to adjust your movements a bit.”