Danny Rohl has explained his initially bemusing decision to move Shea Charles to centre-back, in place of Dominic Iorfa, in Sheffield Wednesday's 2-1 win over Derby County on Sunday.
A dramatic game ended in dramatic fashion, with Jamal Lowe scoring from close range in the dying seconds to hand the Owls all three points at Pride Park.
The game wasn't going in their favour initially, but they started to turn things round in the second half after an unusual tactical switch by the manager, moving their Southampton loanee central midfielder into the back-four alongside left-back Max Lowe.
Danny Rohl reveals reasons behind Shea Charles centre-back decision
Rohl divulged that the decision was not a complete punt in hope of things turning around.
Speaking after Wednesday's win, which takes them to 12th in the league, he told The Star: "First of all, a big respect for the performance of Derby County. I knew this would be a tough place, they area strong team, always physical, always fast, always a danger from set pieces. We were not happy with our start. After 45 seconds we had a corner against and it lifted them up.
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"You felt us move more and more into the game. I pushed Shea into the centre-back to have more calmness on the ball building up and we changed the shape often, always to adapt. We know the opponent was man to man in some parts so we gave them a challenge. Credit to the guys on the bench...
"It was clear from me. I saw the spaces in the half-pockets and I wanted to use this, we moved to a 4-3-3, Shea back to build-up and Dom had a little bit of a question mark and we weren’t sure if he was ready," added the manager on the unexpected change specifically.
Shea Charles Sheffield Wednesday
"Josh (Windass) was a risk as a starter, it was not too clear, we had problems in the morning. But at half-time it was clear to change two things, we needed another midfielder and in the areas we wanted to attack we needed more calmness.
"We changed 4-2-2-2, 4-3-3, 5-3-2 and then a 5-2-3. It shows the players know our principles and for this it is key, it shows our system if for the positioning, not for the principles. The win is good, the points are good, but the performance we really have to improve."
Danny Rohl showed his tactical excellence in Derby win
Wednesday's victory over the Rams was not entirely down to the brilliance of the boss. A bit of wonder from the left boot of Barry Bannan got them back level half an hour before Lowe found the winner in the 94th minute.
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The Owls' star was given the motivation he needed by Derby supporters, after they failed to give him a warm welcome.
But, with that said, it was such a brave decision by the German, one that he would have been hounded for had things gone sideways. But they didn't; it worked like a charm.
There was some more logic behind the choice to move Charles deeper in the formation. He played as a centre-half for Southampton on occasion last season.
Still, only someone with the foresight of Rohl could have pictured the impact an answer of that nature would have had on the game. Without him in charge, Wednesday might not have taken all three points.