Head coach Ruben Amorim contends that altering Man Utd's formation due to media noise would have meant "his demise" for him.
Initially against Newcastle United, Amorim abandoned his trademark three-at-the-back formation with wide defenders and opted to use an traditional four-man defense with two central midfielders.
He himself conceded this at times functioned as a back six in the closing minutes as his side dug in for a win - securing only their second shutout of the campaign.
While he once memorably stated that not even the Pope could force him to change his approach, Amorim asserts the ability to utilize varied setups has remained part of his plan.
Yet, he emphasizes he could only implement the change when his team were performing well enough - otherwise it would look as if he was succumbing to outside criticism.
"At the time I came here last season, I realized maybe I lacked the personnel to perform effectively in that formation, but it was the commencement of a process," he commented.
"We were trying to establish an philosophy. Now is a different moment. We don't have a lot of players, and we have to adjust, so they comprehend the reason we are switching things up.
"It is not because of the pressure of you guys, or the faithful.
"Whenever you criticize changing the system constantly, I can't change because the players will believe I'm changing because of external voices and I believe that is the end for the manager.
"Only when we are playing well in our system, then is the opportunity to change.
"We are going to become a stronger team because when all the players are back, we are not planning to play with a back three in every match."
Injury Challenges Continue
Having only two victories in their last eight outings before beating Newcastle, it is arguable whether Amorim is accurate to claim his side have been playing well.
He is, nonetheless, operating with a depleted roster, with seven senior stars already unavailable for the upcoming fixture against struggling Wolves.
That total will grow if midfielder Mason Mount is unable to recover the knock that led to his withdrawal from the Newcastle game at the interval.
Captain Bruno Fernandes is among those who will be absent for the Wolves clash, despite the fact he is reportedly pressing his boss to let him to make a comeback following his muscle problem.
"Bruno is already insisting he needs to train," revealed Amorim. "But there is no chance he is going to play against Wolves. Definitely not. That's definitive."
The Captain's Leadership Remains
However, the 31-year-old will probably still be heavily involved, as while most injured stars view matches from a private box, Fernandes was observed monitoring the warm-ups from the mouth of the player's tunnel before the Newcastle game.
Amorim is sure his leader to carry on offering insight.
"The guy is a natural leader," he affirmed. "He must not be the type of player that when he is absent, he's silent and speaking. He's constantly speaking. That's why he's the skipper.
"He has negative aspects sometimes - the way he moves his arms - but he has a lot of strengths. After he recovers, he goes to watch the other guys training. There are a lot of aspects you don't see.
"I don't know if he wants my job or not, but he's a leader. The guy is a true captain."
Return Timeline for Key Personnel
Although the exact date for Fernandes' comeback - and that of other injured stars like Kobbie Mainoo, Matthijs de Ligt, and Harry Maguire - remains unclear, by the end of January, United will welcome back Noussair Mazraoui, Amad Diallo, and Bryan Mbeumo from international duty.
