Nigel Pearson is eager to switch to a back four when he has the right players available at his disposal and revealed his intention to recruit "knowledgeable" and versatile wide defenders.
The manager has been forced to chop and change his backline throughout the season both through injuries and a lack of form. Pearson has flipped between a back three and a flat four throughout the season. According to Whoscored, City have fielded a 3-5-2 (or variation of) 21 times from the start of games and a formation with a four-man defence 17 times, occasionally switching during matches as well.
Timm Klose's January arrival helped bolster numbers at centre-back, following Nathan Baker's concussion which is expected to rule him out for the season, but right wing-back has remained the biggest issue with the manager utilising six different players in starting roles in that problem position this season.
Forward Andi Weimann has started the last two matches in that position after fellow striker Sam Bell had a stint against Middlesbrough, Coventry and Birmingham.
Pearson has alternated his formation this season, playing with a back four at the beginning of the season before moving to a three in a bid to stop shipping in goals. He went to a back four against Boro, Coventry and Forest but sacrificed it at half-time at The City Ground. It was the same situation against Birmingham with Pearson then opting for a three in the last two matches.
When quizzed whether Weimann, City's top scorer on 17 for the season, could be eyed as a long-term solution at wing-back, Pearson said: "For someone who doesn't like playing three at the back? I like to have a few adaptable players in the squad, where we can play different formations. I've never really enjoyed playing five at the back too much.
"I've played in that position myself as a player, in a three and a four at the back - it's about playing a system that suits the players that we currently have. The way we play at the moment suits the players that we've got."
When shifting his focus to this summer's recruitment, Pearson spoke about the importance of his new additions being versatile on the flanks.
"I think we need to have some established knowledgeable defenders whether they're wide players, wide defenders, or not," he added.
"When people ask me about that, it's nice to have full-backs who can play wing-backs, nice to have wingers who can play at wing-back, nice to have full-backs who can play as wingers but the position remains wide and that's the key to that.
"George (Tanner) is a player given time is a player that will be able to play full-back or wing-back. That's the key to it. Moving forward, it would be nice to have full-backs who can defend and stop crosses, wing-backs who can defend and stop crosses but can also give us something going forward too."
Last week Pearson identified the central defence as being the main focus of his transfer priority with Klose and Robbie Cundy out of contract in the summer. Zak Vyner has also fallen out of favour in his plans, while Tomas Kalas is struggling with injury.
"Our main objective still is to have dominant centre-backs that can deal with the demands of the game," he said. "Full-backs are nice on a wishlist but I think everyone said they centre-back building through the middle and that will also remain the priority so at the moment, we thought we were relatively strong, we've underachieved this year. So that remains the priority."
A busy summer in order for Pearson and his task to reshaping the defence, indeed.
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