Reading FC manager Paul Ince wants his team to be flexible with their playing system throughout the season.
Throughout the pre-season campaign, the Royals boss has experimented with a three at the back formation.
The defence has been bolstered this summer with the addition of free agent Sam Hutchinson who has impressed throughout the friendly matches.
He signed on a two-year deal after departing Sheffield Wednesday in the summer.
“It’s an option. We conceded 87 goals last year, we need to stop the goals going in,” said Ince.
“The lads like it, we stayed up with a 4-3-2-1 so we’re capable of playing that and need to be flexible. We can’t just have one system.
“I like that system, it gets the wing backs forward.
“We’ve been working on it for the last three weeks but we’re trying to find a way to fit the players that we’ve got into this system at this precise moment.
“We know we can be flexible. What we achieved with 4-2-3-1 last season it’s funny because you think, should we go back to that.
“But at the moment I don’t think we’re ready to go back to that and haven’t got the squad or personnel to do that but hopefully during the season we might be able to do that.
“The Championship is very demanding. You look to the bench and we’ve still had trialists that we’re still looking at a week before the start of the season.
“It’s not something that I like but it’s the situation that we’re in and we’ve got to all pull together.”
Ince was critical of Reading’s first-half performance against Brighton but was pleased with the response they showed in the second-half.
He continued: “I wasn’t pleased with the first half, we were very passive.
“The second half was more like our team.I was annoyed at half-time.
“I said to the lads, I don’t mind getting beat but we’ve got to be competitive, get in their faces and they showed that. It was a great reaction from them.
“When you play a top team you can drop deep and defend in your final third. But as soon as we got higher up the park, we were a better team.
“They’re a top team and it was tough but it was a great experience and shows just what it takes to be a Premier League player.
“It’s been tough and I have to give credit to the players, we’ve only had 13 senior players. We’re still trying to get players in but it’s not easy with the embargo.
“We’ve got to get some players in because the season is upon us and we’ve got a Saturday, Tuesday schedule and it’s unfair to the players.
“The message has to be that it’s going to be a tough year. We’ve got to be positive because there is still a week to go until the season. We still need another four or five more.”
Ince is still hopijng to bolster his squad and is hoping that injured players Shane Long and Scott Dann can return to the fold soon.
“Scott Dann has had a great close season and worked really hard but then he pulled his calf and is out for another two or three weeks.
“Shane Long came on against West Ham and got done in the back and is out for another week.
“These are players that we need with the circumstances that we’re going into this season.
“It will have to be a siege mentality this season, we have to be positive and if we are, we will be ok.
“Fingers crossed we get a few in before the season starts.”
