John McGlynn: I’ll change formation depending on opposition

HEARTS boss John McGlynn insisted today he will switch his side’s formation according to the opposition – and not in response to pressure from observers who want to see a two-pronged attack.

McGlynn went with two up front last weekend in the win over Aberdeen, a move which pleased many fans who had criticised their side’s reliance on just one striker in previous matches.

The Tynecastle manager says he is not necessarily planning on sticking to that formation in the long term and has vowed to change the way his side lines up depending on which teams they come up against. McGlynn said: “We’ve always had these options and it’s a matter of using them.

“We used 4-4-2 against Dundee United in the League Cup, which we drew 1-1 and got through on penalties. We used it in the next again game, against Dundee when we lost 1-0. So, it’s not like it was the first time we had used that.

“We reverted back to our 4-3-3 system and then we went to this 4-4-2 system, which is fairly straightforward for

everyone if you’re British.

“It’s a very, very easy system to play, so it’s not a big deal to switch from either or. It’s not a massive big deal for anyone because, generally, everyone’s been brought up over the past years in that system.

“4-3-3 is the way to go in the modern day and age, and tweaking the system that you want from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1.”

Meanwhile, McGlynn insisted that his side must not read too much into the fact that today’s opponents, St Johnstone,

have been weakened by the loss of four of their players to suspension.

Steven Anderson, Dave Mackay, Fraser Wright and Chris Millar are all banned, but McGlynn added: “I know that they have got four players suspended, but, from the midfield forward, they will have a lot of attacking options, so we must make sure we don’t think because they have a few suspensions it’s just a matter of turning up to win.

“That could be costly – our attitude must be right. We must be even more committed than we were in defeating Aberdeen.

“It was good to get back to a victory last weekend, and against a decent Aberdeen side, as was shown again in midweek there where they had a good cup victory against Motherwell.

“We want to try and build on that victory we’ve just had, and we’re looking for consistency as well.”