CONVENTIONAL football wisdom has it that successful teams are usually built on a stable defensive line-up. It may not be through choice but Wanderers are bucking that trend currently.


Wycombe played their seventh game of the season on Saturday and for the seventh time Gareth Ainsworth selected a different central defensive partnership. With Aaron Pierre called up for the first time by Grenada, Danny Rowe was pitched straight back into the fray alongside Sido Jombati following a lay-off with a groin problem.


But the reshuffling didn’t end there as an injury to Sam Wood saw two-goal hero Michael Harriman moved to the right side of midfield, with on-loan Aston Villa defender Janoi Donacien coming in at right-back.


Ainsworth admitted after the game that he had been worried beforehand but his the manager’s faith in his charges was again rewarded as Wycombe continued their unbeaten start to the League Two season with a 2-1 victory.


At face value it may seem almost ridiculous that a team which has fielded seven different centre-half partnerships in as many games has only lost once and conceded three goals in all competitions to date, but it is no fluke according to Joe Jacobson. It is down to hard work.


The left-back has been the one constant in the Blues’ constantly changing backline this season and after Saturday’s victory he said: “Last season we kept the same back four for the majority of the season and we had a great defence. It just shows the work we do on the training ground, everyone’s really switched on to what we do, no one takes for granted their place or anything like that because they know someone’s behind them and ready to come in and do well.


“We work really hard on our shape, on the unit, and that’s not just the back four, that’s the whole team. We’ve got four midfielders and two strikers who don’t stop working the whole game and make it very easy for us as defenders to not have too much to do a lot of the time, which is great. They might get really tired after 60 minutes but they’re making our jobs so much easier and it’s a credit for them to not just score goals but to stop them for the team as well.”


Asked what it has been like playing alongside a different central defensive partners in every game, Jacobson responded: “It’s a bit strange really because they’ve all got different qualities to their game and they’re all really different players. If you look at Sido, Rowey and JD (Donacien) who’s also played there, they’re all very different players and they’ve all got great attributes. You know when we go into a game everyone’s got pace, everyone’s got power and everyone’s decent in the air, so the battle side of it everyone does their job. And the way the gaffer wants us to play everyone knows to a tee every position, where every man should be at every one point.


“They slot in so easily, they’re all great characters, they’re all great lads and it just shows with Rowey. He’s been out for a few weeks, he’s come straight back in and I thought he was great today. And JD playing at right-back, probably for the first time in the professional game, he did really well as well.

That just shows the quality we’ve got in the squad. Even though we’ve got a small squad, players can play anywhere and it’s a credit to the gaffer.”


Ainsworth was also “very pleased” with Rowe’s return and said: “He’s got to bring some aggression to the table because he’s only a very young man still. He’s a kid, he’s been playing [Under] 21s for a long time and he’s sort of been in a little bit of a shell at Rotherham.


“He’s really come out of his shell here. He’s got a home, he’s in the life academy learning all about other things away from football and I thought he showed some real good aggressive touches today. He won all his headers and great tackles. There’s a couple of things still to work on but Danny’s proving to be potentially a good player.”