Neal Ardley felt going back to basics with Notts County was pivotal to their first win of the season, as he took the decision to scrap his three-man defence at Harrogate.
The Magpies boss went back to 4-4-2 from a 3-5-2 for the first time this season and it paid dividends as Notts finally got their campaign up and running.
Magpies boss Ardley felt the switch to a more orthodox system worked in Notts’ favour, after holding talks with his players in the wake of their defeat to Barnet at the weekend.
“We went back to basics, and we had a good chat on Monday about it,” he said.
“I am the sort of manager who always looks at himself first and I don’t think I know it all.
“Maybe there were too many grey areas in some of the stuff we had been previously been doing.
“So I stripped it back to what everybody would know.
“We went to two banks of four and played players in a position and which they knew how to play.
“We gave them direction on what we were looking for and I think that worked.”
The win took Notts to 15th in the National League table, but they face a tough test on Sunday when they welcome Wrexham to Meadow Lane.
Notts have yet to win on their own patch so far, having registered a draw against Stockport and then losing 2-1 at home to Barnet last Saturday.
Wrexham are highly fancied to be among the promotion contenders this season and secured a 1-0 win over Halifax on Tuesday night.
But buoyed by their success at Harrogate, Ardley is hoping a first win can kickstart Notts’ campaign and drive them up the league table.
“Momentum has to start somewhere,” he said.
“First and foremost we look at what we did really well in the first half against Harrogate and what we didn’t do so well in the second.
“We will try to iron that out.
“The good thing is about this week and next is that we have two full days of training.
“We won’t be recovering from a game, we can train with intensity, and that will allow us to get some work done on the pitch.”
Notts are also boosted by the return Damien McCrory and captain Michael Doyle for the visit of Wrexham, with both players having completed three-match bans.
There is now serious competition for places and Ardley is braced for the headache it will bring him especially with the positive debut of Regan Booty at Harrogate.
“We’ve got two players coming back into the fold,” he said.
“We will hopefully have a good squad to choose from.”
