There are six defenders in the Cork City squad with numbers between 2 and 11.

John Kavanagh wears 2 and is a solid and dependable right-back.

Number 3 is former Irish international Alan Bennett, who has previously played for Reading, Wycombe Wanderers, Brentford and AFC Wimbledon among others. He wore 3 in his previous spell with City too – unusually as he is a centre-back – and it happened to be free on his return before the start of the 2015 season.

Captain John Dunleavy is the number 4 and he can play across the back four.

At number 5 is Darren Dennehy, primarily a centre-back but capable of playing at left-back.

Dan Murray wears number 6 and is an archetypal centre-back. His deployment as a defensive midfielder for one game this season stands out for its weirdness.

And finally, the number 11, Ross Gaynor, is a left-back. Despite us engaging in a running battle with him on Twitter, he continues to retain the shirt he began wearing when operating as a winger earlier in his career.

By our reckoning – and counting centre-back partnerships once, ignoring who’s on the right and who’s on the left – that makes 17 different four-man defensive combinations involving these six players. Or have our maths failed us again?