Corberan defends strategy after using only two subs

CARLOS Corberan has defended his decision to use just two of his five possible substitutions against Coventry City on Wednesday night despite facing another challenging game against third-placed Watford on Saturday afternoon.

Pipa, Carel Eiting, Isaac Mbenza and Fraizer Campbell all returned to the starting line-up for the goalless draw at St Andrews, while Ryan Schofield replaced the injured Ben Hamer and Jonathan Hogg returned to the side after missing the trip to

Bournemouth with a hip injury

The only one of those players to be substituted was Mbenza, who was replaced by Adama Diakhaby three minutes from time. Alex Pritchard had replaced Juninho Bacuna 15 minutes earlier.

When asked the reason for that, Corberan said: “I always want to make changes depending on the performance of the players on the pitch.

“I think when you arrive from the bench sometimes it is difficult to adapt fast to this type of game because the demands from a physical point of view and an effort point of view are really high. So sometimes I think the players that are in a better condition to compete are the players that are playing.”

Corberan came in for criticism for making six changes to his side against Bournemouth at the weekend with a 5-0 defeat the result.

He subsequently accepted responsibility for the performance and the result in that game, admitting his side were not competitive enough against the promotion-chasing Cherries.

So when asked if he is concerned about putting too many minute into his players’ legs ahead of the Watford clash, Corberan joked: “If I make any changes I am in the middle, you put a lot of pressure on me when I make any changes!

“The most important thing for me

I think the players in a better condition to compete are players

playing

is to have all the players ready and to make the right decisions.

“We know we’re not going to have enough time to make a high recovery but that is this competition, that’s the challenge, we’re not going to be looking for an excuse.

“What we need to do is to use every single minute that we have and try to control every aspect that can have an impact on the recovery of the players.

“When we are on the pitch we try to perform well because sometimes when you are on the pitch and perform well you don’t feel the fatigue in the same way.”

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