Sheffield Wednesday boss explains tactical changes against Brentford
Sheffield Wednesday’s caretaker head coach Lee Bullen admitted his plan to starve Brentford of space in midfield backfired in their 2-0 defeat at Griffin Park.
Bullen – in his second match in charge of the Owls following the sacking of Carlos Carvalhal – opted to switch tactics despite the 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.
However, goals from Lasse Vibe and Florian Jozefzoon condemned Wednesday to a loss which leaves them 16th in the Championship.
“We went with a diamond in midfield to try to get a one-man overload against their three, because they really are tidy on the ball and move it very quickly,” Bullen said.
“We started quite brightly – Adam Reach was picking up the ball in good areas but we just weren’t able to take advantage of that.
“Then they get the goal and have two or three really good chances.
“Getting in only 1-0 down gave us a chance to readjust a bit to 4-2-3-1, and we were a little bit more controlled in the second half.
“With 10 minutes to go, we decided to go for it with 3-5-2 and just as we’re adjusting we get done with a sucker punch with the second goal.”
Despite the defeat, Bullen praised his team’s work ethic and the display of goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith, who made several good saves.
“The best team won the game. Our keeper kept us in it,” he said.
“At 1-0 you’re always in the game and you hope you’re going to get a break but it never materialised and you have to give Brentford a lot of credit for that.”
