Paul Warne must stop persevering with one Derby County experiment that has not worked.
Derby County came away from their recent away trip to Preston North End with a point gained after it finished 1-1.
As a result of the crucial point, they now sit 11th in the Championship table, with six points separating themselves and the play-offs.
Notably, Rams attacker Jerry Yates was once again on-form and notched his third successive goal in as many games, and is clearly showing signs of being a top striker at this level.
However, there are still many areas for improvement for Derby County, including Nat Phillips, who looked somewhat uncomfortable on-the-ball alongside Eiran Cashin and Curtis Nelson at-the-back.
Another man who struggled was summer signing Kayden Jackson, who has found it difficult in an alternative role, and Warne must take the blame after shoehorning him into the side yet again.
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Paul Warne must stop experimenting with Derby County attacker Kayden Jackson
Jackson signed from newly-promoted Ipswich Town in the summer, with there being many expectations that he would be the man to lead the line for the Rams this season, either by himself or in a two-striker formation alongside Yates.
Whilst Yates has been consistently named as the player at striker, Jackson has still been getting plenty of game time, only in more unfamiliar roles.
He has often been utilised at right-wing, with recent games even seeing him utilised at right-wing-back.
Despite an initial quick start to life with the Rams, where he looked rather ‘solid’, notching three goal contributions in his first four games, he has managed just one assist in his last 12 games, whilst in the same time not being able to find the back of the net on a single occasion.
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Kayden Jackson will be better utilised from off-the-bench
As the weeks go by, it appears evermore bizarre that Warne continues to persevere with utilising Jackson down the right-flank, especially considering the lack of reward for doing so.
There is no doubt of his Championship abilities that he would be able to express if played at striker, but Yates is certainly undroppable at this present time. As a result, it would make sense for him to be utilised from off-the-bench.
Warne must be proactive in changing his approach with the Rams attacker, as continuing to play him out of position could only further deplete his confidence, especially when Derby have decent wide options top come in for the Englishman.