Hogg outlines reason for formation switch against Gills as Cobblers go to a back four
Cobblers boss Chris Hogg says he wanted to give his players more ‘experience’ in a different formation after switching to a back four against Gillingham on Tuesday.
While there are not too many differences between Hogg’s various systems, he’s mostly played a version of 3-5-2 since Cobblers returned from the last international break at the start of October. However, for Tuesday’s EFL Trophy tie, Hogg rang the changes and, out of possession, it was more of a 4-4-2.
"We set up in a slightly different way to what we've played in the past month,” said Hogg. “We went to a back four and gave lads experience in that shape and structure and I thought there were some good bits.
“But you don't get anything for good bits. You have to score goals at the right time and you have to be harder to beat if you want to win games.”
Asked if he will stick with four at the back, Hogg replied: "I've said it numerous times, people focus on systems and formations. Because we lost at the weekend, people talk about tweaks and changes, but there's been good stuff in both systems.
"We started the season with a back four and there were some good things without the results, and then we went to a back five and we picked up a few results.
"I've got to try and find a way to give these lads the belief and confidence to go and play and win football matches. We turned a corner before the Oldham game and now we need to inject that belief back into people again and understand that it's a grind of a season and we have to start picking up more points.”
Although Cobblers lost Tuesday’s game 2-1, there were some notable individual performances.
Hogg added: “I've always got headaches because I'm constantly trying to find the best connections and the best way to be competitive in games and win football matches. There were some decent individual performances in the context of them having not played for a considerable amount of time.”