Celtic defender Liam Scales admits he struggled with fatigue playing in a back three during Wilfried Nancy's ill-fated reign.
The Frenchman lasted just 33 days at Celtic during which he lost six of his eight games in charge, including the League Cup final to St Mirren and Old Firm derby against Rangers.
Now Martin O'Neill is back in the dugout and Scales has been reflecting on the struggles under the previous boss.
Nancy immediately implemented a 3-4-3 formation – with defenders given licence to roam forward – and a second-half drop-off in performance level was a notable feature during his time in charge.
"Personally for me, and this isn't going to be the same for everyone, I felt that as I got tired in games, it was harder to bring quality in that final third because I hadn't played that high up as much," centre-back Scales said.
"Especially when your legs are tired, because you're doing more running, more covering in that back three, the fatigue can take away quality. For me, I felt like that is what happened with me.
"I felt good in the first half of the cup final but as the game developed I nearly ran out of steam. I think that was just out of not being used to playing in that position, and doing more running at high speed and covering more distance.
"It's not an excuse, it just takes time to get used to that, what's being asked of you physically. I think that was for me the difference."
With the defeat to Aberdeen in last season's Scottish Cup final and losing out to the Buddies in last month's League Cup showpiece, Scales is eager to avoid more knockout drama.
Celtic begin their Scottish Cup campaign on Sunday against West of Scotland Premier side Auchinleck Talbot at Rugby Park in the fourth round.
"It's just about respecting them and playing the exact same way as we play in a European game or in a cup final," the 27-year-old Ireland international said.
"It's about respecting them and not thinking that you can cruise games like this, because you can't, I've learned that in the past as well.
"We're looking forward to it. Losing two Cup finals in a row, it doesn't really happen often at a club like Celtic.
"We want to get back to winning as much as we can. This is where it starts for us now. This is our chance to get back to winning ways in these cup competitions."
