It’s not so much how you start a game, but how you finish it.
That’s a message Chris Davies has been pressing home to his squad this season.
The value of substitutes making a significant impact was clear in the defeat of Swansea City. As it was at Blackburn Rovers. And on both occasions Lyndon Dykes was very much to the fore.
With five options from a nine-man bench, there is scope to alter the shape of proceedings – as long as there is buy-in from those among the replacements.
Davies was asked at his pre-match press conference how he handled what could be a thorny issue with the so-called ‘finishers’.
“There’s a few things you can do.
“We try to make their training a day before the game a little bit different to the starters.
“They need a little bit something else, with their preparation physically.
“There’s one thing.
“I think how it’s communicated to them. Every player wants to start. No one says I want to be a finisher and that’s what I am.
“They all want to start and it’s just trying to explain the importance to them of that closing period of games, especially when it’s such a tight league, and how they can make a difference.
“And I also try to communicate to them around my decision making as much as possible.
“Why I am deciding on this line-up for this game, where they fit within that, what they need to do. And try to have that communication with them that they feel really part of it, and that they can be ready to make an impact.”
The ‘finishers’ epithet became popular in rugby in recent years, to represent the deliberate, pre-planned changes seen rather than the replacement of tired or injured players.
And with football matches now often ticking on past the 100 minute mark, there is certainly more opportunity for substitutes to be a telling factor.
“It’s nice terminology in the sense you say there’s a starter and a substitute,” Davies commented.
“For me, it’s just understanding that to finish the game is just as important to start the game.
“The first 20 minutes of the game are no more important than the last 20 minutes of a game. In fact, the last 20 minutes are usually more decisive.
“It is hard for players because they just want to play as many minutes as they can and start.
“But for me it’s just an understanding of you’re finishing the game – whether that’s in an attacking sense or defensive sense – as strongly as possible.
“I think a lot of them buy into that, and understand it.
“And for us, this season, we can see how important it has been. How close the games have been. Not just to win a game, but you might get a point from a game you are losing, in that last 20 minutes. So it’s an important time.”
The tempo and intensity of a typical Blues side under Davies is also a factor when it comes to making alterations, in game.
“A strong squad can have a huge impact. Especially the way I have always thought about the game.
“If on 60, 70 minutes we play with the intensity I want us to play at, there will naturally be a couple of players who are maybe flagging a bit. If you can inject then more intensity, it’s really helpful.”
Davies has a quality and hearty squad to select from. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I presume most managers are the same, when you talk about having a headache, you want to have a headache because you have got difficult decisions to make around good players.
“The worse headache to have is when you look at a team and think ‘how are we going to get a result with this?’. So it’s important to have the depth and competition.”
On that subject, Blues have received a boost ahead of the trip to Coventry City on Saturday.
Alex Cochrane has been passed fit to play, having undergone necessary medical protocols.
Cochrane had to be withdrawn against Swansea due to a blow to the head – which allowed Blues to use a sixth so-called ‘concussion substitute’.
Davies said: “He has gone through all the processes he’s needed to. He’ll be available.”
