Boro continued their summer preparations with a 2-2 draw at Rangers yesterday, with Edwards once again setting his side up with three central defenders and wing-backs.
Even in the absence of Rav van den Berg, who pulled out after suffering a back spasm in the warm-up, Boro fielded Dael Fry, Darragh Lenihan and Neto Borges as centre-halves, with Luke Ayling playing at right wing-back and Sammy Silvera lining up on the left-hand side.
Edwards played with a three-man backline for most of his time as manager of Luton Town, and while he admits Boro’s ongoing transfer activity will have an influence over his tactical thinking, it now looks all but assured that his side will be lining up with three central defenders and wing-backs when they host Swansea City in their opening Championship fixture on August 9.
“The system suits us at the moment, because we’ve not really been able to make any changes,” said Edwards, who handed recent signing Alfie Jones a first appearance in a Boro shirt in the second half of yesterday’s game. “So, that’s the reason why.
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“If different people come in, or more people come in, then maybe we might have a look at it. But as you know, the way football is going, you can put one thing up on the board and it becomes a completely different thing when you’ve got the ball and without it.
“We know what we want to be when we have the ball and how we want it to look when we haven’t as well. Principles are still key at the moment. When one or two more come into the building, we’ll have a look at it. But I do like the way we look at the moment.”
Edwards was particularly pleased with the intensity of his side’s performance at Ibrox, which represented a marked improvement from their display in last Tuesday’s defeat at Bradford City.
While the Teessiders were unable to hold on to the lead they secured through set-piece goals from Borges and Fry, the fact they made so many second-half alterations was undoubtedly a factor in Rangers levelling the scores.
“We demand that kind of intensity of the boys,” said Edwards. “To come here, with loads of fans…we arrived here on the coach and there were just loads of people outside. That can’t not get the best out of you.
“It was a brilliant pre-season friendly for us. It allowed us to put a bit of pressure on the boys. Then, in the second half, as they’re tiring, ‘Come on then, show us’. And I thought they did that.”