ECONOMICAL WITH THE HOOF, LADS
players to find a happy medium. Speaking about the ding-dongs between Pickford and Stones, he said: “I think they were just deciding. It depends how the opposition press.
“Those guys are able to make those decisions. We give them possible patterns depending on how the opposition are pressing.
“There was a little spell when we went long and we just talked about that at half-time.
“We didn’t want to do that every time but there are moments to go longer. We’ve got a centre-forward who wins more of his share of the ball. And we shouldn’t be football snobs.
“It’s great to play out from the back and get to the halfway line in control of the ball, but it’s just as effective to go to the centre-forward and be in control of the ball and be able to play from there.
“The variety is important against top opposition.”
Stones plays at club level under Pep Guardiola (above), whose Manchester City side habitually play out from the back.