Warrington Rylands manager on change of formation

However, manager Dave McNabb insists that does not mean their current three-man defence will become a permanent, long-term fixture.

The switch in shape saw them into a two-week break from fixtures challenging the Northern Premier League's leading sides.

And as they prepare to return to action by welcoming Clitheroe to Gorsey Lane on Saturday, McNabb says his side will need to adapt going forward.

"We’ve played that shape for the past four or five games," he said of the 3-4-3 formation.

"It was more around personnel at the time, but it’s worked quite well.

"We work on a back four and a back three at training so we work on a few variables for shape and formations.

"It’s going to be a case of what gives us the best chance of winning any particular game.

"We can’t just nail ourselves to one formation – we have to adapt for different teams and different games."

Blues missed the chance to go top of the table in their last outing – a 1-1 draw at Glossop North End on October 23 – and since then, the likes of Mossley and Marine have used games in hand to solidify their position above them.

Warrington Rylands' last game was a 1-1 draw at Glossop North End on October 23. Picture by Mark Percy

Still, McNabb's men are well placed and fresh as a new month begins and the manager outlined how his side used their break from games.

"We’ve had a busy start to the season like everybody else, so the more time we get to spend on the training pitch the better," he said.

"The lads are learning all the time – we’re trying to introduce things that will improve us so the more time we get to work on that, the better off we’ll be.

"We’ve been working on positioning out of possession and being more dominant when we do have the ball.

"One of the big changes we’ve seen this season is how organised teams are.

"Sometimes, we have to be a bit more patient when we’re trying to break teams down."