STEPHEN McGinn hailed boss Gareth Ainsworth and his coaching staff for masterminding a tactical switch which earned the Blues a 1-1 draw at league leaders Leyton Orient.

The boss ditched his wingers and went for a compact midfield, bringing Matt Bloomfield in for his first minutes of the campaign, alongside McGinn, Marcus Bean and Luke O’Nien.

And the wingless wonders worked a treat. They had the Os completely rattled, became the first side to score at Brisbane Road this season and looked odds on for all three points until an uncharacteristic defensive mistake by Sido Jombati gifted Orient an equaliser just when it looked as though the East Londoners had run out of ideas.

Even then, Wanderers might have won it at the death with a fierce drive from McGinn which a defender came from nowhere to block.

McGinn said: "As soon as the shot left my foot I thought I have won this so I’m a bit disappointed with that but it was a great block.”

But a point – and the manner in which they played to achieve it – was something to celebrate for Blues and McGinn was quick to doff his cap to Ainsworth for the tactical changes.

He said:”Changing the midfield definitely worked because it forced them to change their style of play and that shows how dominant we were in the first half. We had worked all week on it and come match day we all knew exactly what our roles were and what we had to do. The management team really simplify it for us and it wasn’t a surprise to us that it worked because we had worked so hard on it.

“We had spent all week on it and it had gone really well in training. As soon as we did it, it clicked and it showed out there.

“We’ve got a small squad but the fact that we can switch like that gives us plenty of options. We’ve got a squad of intelligent players that can do different jobs for the team. The manager lets you know what’s expected and if you don’t do it you’re not in the team.”

McGinn is one of the new-boys in the team having signed in the summer and he’s convinced he’s in the right place even though he has been in and out of the side.

He said: “I’ve loved it here. It’s a really good team and a successful team. We don’t lose often and we don’t look like losing often and that’s so important to me.

“There’s a mentality that comes from the manager and he demands it of you and if it looks like you are coming off it a bit, you go out of the team. There’s no big secrets to what we do, we work really hard and demand the best of each other and it seems to work.”

And he sees parallels between Gareth Ainsworth and Sean Dyche who took Burnley into the Premiership.

He said: “I worked with Sean Dyche before and training then was really hard  but the two managers are very similar in what they ask from you and how simple they make the game for you.

“I don’t think either manager would like to be compared to each other because they are both really good young managers but in terms of the demands they put on you and how hard you need to work in training they are similar.

“From what I have seen of the gaffer here in the short time I’ve been here I’ve been really impressed.”

And he says there was definitely no blame directed at Jombati who got punished for trying to play his way out of trouble at the back.

He said: “The manager  doesn’t point any fingers or single anyone out. We will maybe go over it on Monday or Tuesday but Sido tries to play football all the time and when you do that you are brave and take chances and you are going you make mistakes now and then. If you got Sido to kick the ball in the stands every time there was an issue then you would be taking a lot away from him as a player. We respect the way he plays and what he brings to the team.”