Millwall boss Gary Rowett has praised the ‘flexibility’ of Jamie Shackleton after his decision to deploy him at wingback paid off in last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Cardiff City.
The Leeds United loanee had been deployed in his traditional role in the heart of midfield during the Lions’ opening seven matches in the Championship. However, Rowett opted to experiment with his side in an attempt to end a run of three consecutive defeats and arrest Millwall’s slide down the table.
The wing-back roles are usually occupied by Danny McNamara and Scott Malone at The Den but Rowett took the decision to leave the pair on the bench. Rowett also played Callum Styles, another midfielder by trade, on the left side of his five-man defence.
Fellow Leeds loanee Charlie Cresswell opened the scoring with his third goal of the season, before setting up Benik Afobe in the 90th minute to secure the three points.
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Rowett was delighted by the results that his tactical change heralded and revealed that it was a ploy that he’s been considering for some time.
“You have to be wary of trying to pick the right team for the right game always,” Rowett told Sunderland Echo. “What Callum and Shacks [Shackleton] gave us at the weekend was something a little bit different, it was almost like two midfielders playing as wingbacks.
“They’re very comfortable going forward and they also stepped into the inside positions quite well and gave us a little bit more flexibility when we pass the ball.
“It was something I wanted to have a look at. Shacks has played right wing-back in the Premier League for Leeds on numerous occasions and Callum played there for virtually a whole season under [Valerien] Ismael when Barnsley got to the play-offs.
“It’s not like they’ve never played there, they’re well-versed in those roles. It gave us more of an attacking threat and that’s something that I need our wingbacks to do. If you’re going to play with wingbacks, there’s no point if you’re going to end up with five defenders sitting deep.
“You’ve got to get them forward, you’ve got to get them in attacking positions and they’ve got to have an input in the final third. They certainly did that on Saturday.”
Shackleton is not unfamiliar with playing in defence after featuring regularly at right-back under Marcelo Bielsa. The 22-year-old, who joined Leeds at the age of seven in 2006, has also played at wing-back for the Whites on a handful of occasions
The former England U20 international has started all but one of the Lions’ first eight league games since arriving on loan from Elland Road in the summer. Shackleton has amassed 79 appearances for the Whites but has generally been on the fringes of the side since making his debut
He has played even less since Jesse Marsch succeeded Bielsa in February – featuring for a mere 22 minutes in Leeds’ 1-1 draw against Brighton in May.
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