SWINDON Town defender Marcel Lavinier believes the positional versatility within the squad gives Scott Lindsey’s men an edge over other more structured clubs in the division, tactically.

Like the overwhelming majority of Town’s squad, Lavinier can play in a number of positions and even has experience in attacking midfield areas during his time at Tottenham Hotspur.

And other players who were initially thought of as positional rivals – i.e. Tyrese Shade and Remeao Hutton – have proved they can play further forward from the start or pick up positions more centrally while not looking out of place during a game.

The 21-year-old has been excited by his teammates’ adaptability so far and says the reason Lindsey’s preferred style of play is beginning to work so well is due to everyone being comfortable on the ball wherever they might receive it.

Lavinier said: “I would say our versatility does give us a bit of an edge over more structured teams.

“We have a lot of possession, we keep the ball a lot, and we get chances, so I think teams find it hard to play against us.

“When they’re chasing the ball for a long time, it demoralises teams. So I would say that is an advantage of our style and the players we have.

“Having players who feel comfortable going anywhere is good because the rotations which happen within the game, each player is comfortable wherever they might end up.”

On a personal level, the 21-year-old says he is happy to play wherever the head coach needs him to and backs himself to produce quality football at both ends of the pitch.

Lavinier also stated he would have been highly unlikely to sign for Town in the first place had both parties not complimented the other in terms of their football philosophy.

He said: “I can play in defence or midfield, but we’re all quite versatile here.

“Because we’re not so structured, you need players in the team that can move around. Players that can feel comfortable going into midfield, players that feel comfortable going a bit higher up the pitch.

“Otherwise, if I was just a right-back who said: “no, I just want to stay in this part of the pitch” and I can only put it down the channel or head it clear, Swindon wouldn’t be the place for me because I wouldn’t fit the philosophy of the club.

“I can play further up, and in my time at Tottenham I played in the number eight position – further up in midfield.”