Boss Ruben Amorim says that switching Man Utd's formation due to public pressure would have meant "the end" for him.
For the first time against Newcastle, Amorim ditched his customary three-at-the-back setup with wing-backs and instead use an traditional four-man defense with two defensive midfielders.
By his own admission this at times functioned as a six-man defensive block in the latter phase as his team held on for a win - securing only their second-ever clean sheet of the campaign.
While he once notably remarked that even the Pope could force him to change his system, Amorim maintains the capacity to utilize different setups has always been part of his plan.
Nevertheless, he stresses he could only implement the change when his team were faring at an acceptable level - or else it would look as if he was bowing to external criticism.
"At the time I came here last season, I understood perhaps I don't have the players to excel in that formation, but it was the commencement of a journey," he stated.
"We were trying to build an philosophy. Today is a separate moment. We lack a lot of personnel, and we need adapt, so they understand why we are changing.
"The change isn't because of the demands of the media, or the supporters.
"When media criticize changing the system repeatedly, I can't change because the squad will understand I'm altering things because of external voices and I feel that is the end for the manager.
"Only when we are getting results in our preferred setup, that becomes the moment to adapt.
"We will become a better squad because when our full complement of players return, we are not intending to employ a back three all the time."
Availability Crisis Persist
With just two wins in eight games prior to beating Newcastle, it is arguable whether Amorim is accurate to say his side have been in good form.
He is, nonetheless, managing with a severely stretched roster, with multiple senior players already ruled out for the upcoming home game against winless Wolves.
That number will rise if playmaker Mason Mount fails to recover the injury that forced his withdrawal from the Newcastle game at half-time.
Skipper Bruno Fernandes is a key name who will miss the Wolves match, even though he is understood to be pressing his manager to let him to make a comeback after his muscle injury.
"Fernandes is already insisting he has to train," revealed Amorim. "However there is no chance he is going to feature against Wolves. No chance. You can quote me on that."
The Captain's Role Endures
However, the Portuguese star will almost certainly still be deeply engaged, as whereas most unavailable stars watch matches from the stands, Fernandes was spotted monitoring the warm-ups from the mouth of the player's tunnel before the Newcastle game.
Amorim anticipates his captain to carry on providing input.
"He is a natural leader," he stated. "He must not be the type of player that when he is absent, he's not talking and offering advice. He's always communicating. That's why he's the skipper.
"He has negative aspects at times - the way he moves his arms - but he has a lot of good things. Even after he finishes treatment, he heads to observe the other guys training. There are a lot of aspects that go unnoticed.
"I'm not sure if he wants my position or not, but he's a born leader. The guy is a leader."
Return Schedule for Injured Players
While the specific date for Fernandes' return - and that of fellow unavailable players like Kobbie Mainoo, Matthijs de Ligt, and Harry Maguire - remains uncertain, before the conclusion of January, United will see the return of Noussair Mazraoui, Amad Diallo, and Bryan Mbeumo from international duty.
