'Performance justified O'Neil's decision to change system'published at 16:34 30 October
Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter
"I know what you mean," Tommy Doyle said when I suggested that finding himself alone to defend against four Brighton players must have been a stressful moment.
"But I kind of knew what he was going to do. I know it sounds a little bit silly, but I think it can be just as difficult for the guy with four players as it is for one, because you're expected to make a pass. So there's obviously an element of guessing."
Doyle was being unnecessarily modest, after producing two touches - a nerveless interception and an imaginative pass - that earned him the most unlikely assist of the season. "That was what I felt he was going to do, I obviously gambled and it paid off, and I came out the other end with an assist."
Doyle's move from Manchester City was made permanent in the summer, when the option negotiated before his loan looked very good value. The later signing of Andre meant he spent most of the first few weeks of the campaign on the bench.
After a tidy job when asked to play the second 45 against his former club, his first league start came at Brighton and he was an important part of a strong second-half showing, even before his remarkable late intervention.
Whether he remains in the team is hard to guess, but it is likely the shape from the second half - based on a four-man defence - is here to stay.
"There's a lot made of trying to be a back five at this club," said Gary O'Neil, acknowledging the fervent recent debate.
"We should never have been a back five today. I think we've had a tough run of results and the lads did really well against City, so we tried to find a way to make it fit against Brighton and it didn't really. So we went back to what we've been trying to do, trying to be a bit more aggressive, and you saw we got some benefit for it."
O’Neil's regret - he was "kicking himself a bit that he didn't go with his gut on system from the start" - was bracingly frank, but his team's performance justified his decision to change. Now it is imperative that they maintain the momentum gained from Doyle's flash of inspiration.
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