Danny Cowley on why Portsmouth 'tactical flexibility' shares crucial similarities with Wigan, Rotherham, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday

The Blues’ head coach alternated between three or four at the back for several long spells during a League One finish of 10th.

They ended the campaign with a back four consisting of Hayden Carter, Sean Raggett, Clark Robertson and Connor Ogilvie, while claimed wins over Championship-bound pair Rotherham and Wigan.

However, on occasions, wing-backs and a back three were employed, coinciding with some excellent runs of form for sustained periods.

It reflects Cowley’s belief in operating with ‘tactical flexibility’ over the course of a 46 league-game campaign, an approach also employed by Wigan, Rotherham, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday.

And for the 2022-23 season, he will once again mix up his playing systems.

Pompey’s head coach told The News: ‘We would like to have both options, that’s the truth.

‘We’d like to play with a three or four (at the back), like we’ve done this year. Having that flexibility is really important, otherwise you can become a bit one dimensional.

‘It’s not about numbers, they are just people moving five yards right, five yards left, five yards forward, five yards back.

‘It's more about the partnerships and relationships and playing fast, attacking, high intensity football, even when we defend we want to attack.

‘And in modern-day football you need tactical flexibility.

‘When we’ve played three at the back, we built a back four because Gavin (Bazunu) was always in the middle.

‘If you actually think about it, the four players in our back four at the end of the season were all centre-halves, so when Hayden (Carter) pushed out, Connor (Ogilvie) came around and it became a three.

‘Look at other teams, Wigan would have been a back four in the first half of the season and become a back three recently.

‘MK Dons and Plymouth have been the same system, Rotherham have gone from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-3 in recent times, Sunderland have flitted between twos, threes, and fours.

‘Sheffield Wednesday have been a four or a three – it’s flexibility.’

Ogilvie perhaps sums up the desired versatility, having been asked to serve at left-sided centre-half, left-back, left wing-back and even a cameo in midfield.

While Carter, who has since returned to Blackburn, demonstrated his quality with fine performances at right-back and right-sided centre-half.

Cowley added: ‘The four boys in our back four could also play centre-half, so when you play against two direct teams in Gillingham and Wigan, you have the physicality to be able to deal with that.

‘It’s modern-day football. While the principles never change, the numbers where you play the players are different to a previous era.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can support our local team of expert Pompey writers by subscribing here for all the latest news from Fratton Park for 9p a day, thanks to our 30%-off transfer window deal.