Head coach Ruben Amorim contends that changing Manchester United's formation due to external scrutiny would have meant "the finish" for him.
In a first against Newcastle, Amorim moved away from his trademark three-at-the-back formation with wide defenders and chose to use an traditional four-man defense with two defensive midfielders.
He himself conceded this effectively functioned as a six-man defensive block in the closing phase as his side held on for a victory - securing just their second clean sheet of the season.
Although he once memorably stated that not even the Pope could force him to adjust his system, Amorim insists the ability to play with varied setups has always been part of his strategy.
Nevertheless, he stresses he could only alter the tactics when his team were doing sufficiently well - lest it would look as if he was succumbing to outside criticism.
"At the time I came here last season, I realized perhaps I don't have the squad to perform effectively in that system, but it was the beginning of a process," he said.
"The goal was to forge an style. Now is a distinct moment. We lack a full complement of players, and we must adapt, so they understand the reason we are changing.
"This isn't because of the pressure of you guys, or the fans.
"When the press talk about altering the formation repeatedly, I can't make a change because the squad will understand I'm altering things because of external voices and I believe that is a disaster for the manager.
"Once we are performing strongly in our system, that becomes the moment to adapt.
"This will help us grow into a more complete side because when our full complement of players are back, we are not going to play with a back three all the time."
Injury Challenges Loom Large
Having just two wins in their last eight outings before beating Newcastle, it is questionable whether Amorim is right to state his side have been in good form.
He is, nonetheless, operating with a severely stretched roster, with multiple first-team stars already ruled out for the upcoming fixture against winless Wolves.
That total will increase if playmaker Mason Mount fails to shake off the injury that forced his exit from the Newcastle game at the interval.
Captain Bruno Fernandes is a key name who will be absent for the Wolves match, even though he is reportedly pushing his manager to allow him to make a comeback after his muscle problem.
"Fernandes is already telling me he has to practice," said Amorim. "However there is absolutely no possibility he is going to feature against Wolves. No way. You can write that."
Fernandes' Role Endures
Nevertheless, the 31-year-old will almost certainly still be deeply engaged, as while most unavailable players watch matches from a private box, Fernandes was observed keeping a close eye on the pre-match routines from the mouth of the player's tunnel before the Newcastle game.
Amorim expects his leader to carry on providing guidance.
"The guy is a natural leader," he affirmed. "He must not be the type of player that when he is not playing, he's silent and offering advice. He's always speaking. That is the reason he's the skipper.
"There are bad things at times - his mannerisms he moves his arms - but he has a lot of positive qualities. After he finishes treatment, he heads to observe the other guys practicing. There are a lot of aspects that go unnoticed.
"I'm not sure if he desires my job or not, but he's a leader. He is a leader."
Return Timeline for Injured Personnel
Although the exact date for Fernandes' comeback - and that of fellow unavailable stars like Kobbie Mainoo, Matthijs de Ligt, and Harry Maguire - is unclear, before the conclusion of January, the club will see the return of Noussair Mazraoui, Amad Diallo, and Bryan Mbeumo from international duty.
