Head coach Ruben Amorim argues that altering Man Utd's formation due to media scrutiny would have signaled "the finish" for him.
In a first against Newcastle, Amorim ditched his trademark three-at-the-back formation with wing-backs and chose to field an traditional four-man defense shielded by two central midfielders.
By his own admission this ultimately functioned as a back six in the latter phase as his side clung on for a win - securing just their second-ever shutout of the campaign.
Although he once memorably remarked that not even the Pope could compel him to tweak his system, Amorim insists the ability to utilize alternative setups has remained part of his strategy.
Yet, he stresses he could only implement the change when his team were performing well enough - otherwise it would look as if he was giving in to external pressure.
"At the time I came here last season, I understood maybe I don't have the players to play well in that system, but it was the beginning of a process," he said.
"Our aim was to establish an style. Currently is a distinct time. We are missing a lot of personnel, and we have to adjust, so they understand why we are switching things up.
"This isn't because of the influence of the media, or the faithful.
"Whenever you talk about altering the formation repeatedly, I can't make a change because the players will think I'm altering things because of external voices and I feel that is a disaster for the manager.
"Only when we are performing strongly in our preferred setup, then is the opportunity to adapt.
"We are going to grow into a more complete squad because when our full complement of players are available, we are not intending to use three defenders in every match."
Squad Challenges Loom Large
With only two victories in eight games before defeating Newcastle, it is arguable whether Amorim is accurate to say his side have been playing well.
He is, though, managing with a severely stretched squad, with multiple senior stars already unavailable for the upcoming home game against struggling Wolves.
That number will increase if playmaker Mason Mount is unable to recover the injury that forced his withdrawal from the Newcastle game at the interval.
Skipper Bruno Fernandes is among those who will miss the Wolves clash, even though he is understood to be pushing his manager to let him to return after his muscle injury.
"Fernandes is already telling me he needs to practice," said Amorim. "However there is no chance he is going to feature against Wolves. No chance. That's definitive."
Fernandes' Role Endures
However, the Portuguese star will probably still be heavily involved, as whereas most injured players view matches from a private box, Fernandes was seen monitoring the warm-ups from the mouth of the tunnel before the Newcastle game.
Amorim is sure his captain to carry on offering input.
"He is a leader," he declared. "He cannot be the type of player that when he is absent, he's not talking and speaking. He's always speaking. That's why he's the skipper.
"There are flaws at times - the way he moves his arms - but he has a multitude of good things. Even after he finishes treatment, he heads to watch the rest of the squad practicing. There are a lot of things you don't see.
"I'm not sure if he desires my position or not, but he's a leader. The guy is a leader."
Recovery Timeline for Key Players
While the precise timeline for Fernandes' return - and that of fellow unavailable players like Kobbie Mainoo, Matthijs de Ligt, and Harry Maguire - is unknown, before the conclusion of January, United will see the return of Noussair Mazraoui, Amad Diallo, and Bryan Mbeumo from international duty.
