Formation chancing will suit Nigel Worthington (From York Press)

Formation chancing will suit new York City manager Nigel Worthington

11:31am Tuesday 5th March 2013 in Sport By Dave Flett, Sports reporter

YORK City’s new manager Nigel Worthington has a preference for 4-4-2 football.

The former Norwich boss has stressed, however, he is not afraid to try other formations if the circumstances dictate.

Worthington’s predecessor Gary Mills was a strong 4-3-3 advocate and received criticism in some quarters for being inflexible in his tactical views.

His replacement, though, has insisted he will not be rigid in his adherence to a single system, saying: “Personally, I like 4-4-2, or 4-4-1-1 sometimes, but it can be a case of horses for courses.

“You can never have a closed mind in terms of playing other systems because, sometimes, you might want to change things during the course of a game if you are getting overrun in midfield. It’s all about whatever is most effective.”

Worthington added that he wanted his team to play high-tempo football and hurt teams with the quality of their passing high up the field.

Following his first training session with the players at Wigginton Road, the Ballymena-born boss added: “They look a good group and confidence does not seem to be too bad.

“I like to play at a high tempo and fitness levels and mentalities can be hard to change but I want to try to add to the good football that has been played here because I like to pass the ball.

“It has to be done in the right areas of the pitch though to give you a chance of winning games and I would rather play good football closer to the opposition’s goal than ours.”

Worthington played under top-flight winning manager and one-time temporary England chief Howard Wilkinson at Notts County, Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds and also worked under the larger-than-life Ron Atkinson at Hillsborough.

The two men could not have been much more different in personality but Worthington admitted he learned plenty from both to assist him in his future career.

He said: “Howard Wilkinson has been fantastic for me throughout my career as a player and I also had a spell coaching England’s Under-21s with him. He has made calls to various people in the past to help my career and it’s great to know somebody with his experience, quality and knowledge.

“When Big Ron came in at Sheffield Wednesday, we used to pass teams off the field. They are very different people but you try to take the good from both and fit it in with what you want to do.

“You can never be anybody else. You have to be yourself but, along the way, you have to pick up knowledge and learn.”