Stockport County: Sunderland, Colchester United deals sign potential Dave Challinor switch - View | OneFootball

It appears a slight tactical switch from the Hatters boss may be on the way ahead of the new season

Stockport County are set to embark on their long-awaited return to League One at the start of the new season, and it appears manager Dave Challinor is considering a tactical shift.

A strong winning run in the first half of the 2023/24 campaign was backed up with enough positive performances after Christmas to send the Hatters charging to the League Two title and, with that, into the third tier.

Challinor often opted to play a back three with wing-backs on either side or a back four with two strikers backed up by somebody in the no.10 role.

Two signings already sealed this summer, however, suggest that the County boss may be taking a different approach.

Stockport have previously done without wingers

Due partly to injuries and partly to Challinor's relatively fluid tactical approach, a number of different structures were used by the 48-year-old throughout the season, but the options available were limited by the lack of wingers at the club.

It's difficult to know whether the club didn't carry wingers as Challinor's style largely had no use for them, or whether the manager adapted his style because of the profile of players he had, but the end result is the same; County rarely deployed wingers.

That's not to say that the Hatters always played through the middle. Often, the likes of Louie Barry and Tanto Olaofe would be fielded as strikers but would provide width, as would midfielders and wing-backs venturing forward.

That County already played with width is clear through the number of crosses they played last term, 1019, which was the fourth-highest in League Two.

What they often did not have, though, is two players to stay high and wide throughout the game, stretching their counterpart's defence and providing a permanent presence in these areas for the opposition to consider. It now appears that this is another weapon that Challinor wants in his arsenal.

There appears to have been a shift in approach

The signings of Jayden Fevrier from Colchester United and Jack Diamond from Sunderland appear to show that Challinor wants the option to deploy wingers heading into the new season.

Diamond has played more centrally in the past, but in the main, his outings have come on either flank, most commonly on the left.

As a right-footed winger, used to playing on either flank, he provides Challinor with the flexibility to play him as a traditional wide man, getting balls into the box for a target man like Kyle Wootton, or on the left with Diamond able to cut in and take on a shot of his own or play through to a pacey forward like Olaofe.

Fevrier arrives slightly differently in that he has played predominately as a wing-back for his former club, Colchester, but County, in their announcement of the signing, expressly labelled him as a winger and have added him to the 'Forwards' section of the squad list on the official website, alluding to where they see him being used.

Like Diamond, Fevrier has also been used across the front three in his young career. As a left-footed winger, the 21-year-old will mirror what Diamond offers on the opposite flank, able to cut in or provide crosses depending on the side Challinor puts him on.

They both also appear to fit into a trend of players being capable of playing a number of positions, increasing the adaptability of the squad and also opening up the potential for rotations between players in-game.

Stockport change indicated at end of last season

The new recruits seem to suggest that Challinor wants the option to field something resembling a 4-3-3 with two attacking wingers either side of a central striker.

The sign that the County manager wanted the option to play this style was clear towards the end of last season, but it was also apparent that he didn't quite have the right profile of players.

Challinor opted for a 4-3-3 against MK Dons, using Paddy Madden, Wootton and Olaofe as the front three, with the trio rotating throughout the game.

The Hatters won the game 5-0, so there can be little criticism of the system played on that day, but it was clear that the role was relatively unnatural for Madden and Wootton in particular.

Signing Diamond and Fevrier means that Challinor can revive this setup next season, but can now field a pair of expert wingers rather than trying to mould players that aren't quite suited to the role.