Brevity was among the facets Leeds United fans seemed most taken with when Michael Skubala began holding court after Jesse Marsch’s sacking. The American, quite helpfully for the media, would not be afraid to explain everything in the finest detail at press conferences.
While dates and diagnoses on injuries to key players were invaluable, there were many times Marsch would go off-script. Questions about form or the dressing room would tumble into philosophy and Mother Teresa or Mahatma Gandhi.
It could all be quite pleasant, jovial colour when the going was good, but as poor form set in and waits for wins extended, there was less and less patience on the terraces. Long tactical examinations which landed on the same keywords every week would grow wearisome when there was patently little changing on the pitch, where it all mattered.
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Skubala, in the few press conferences he handled, preferred speaking with focused, shorter answers. Journalists may have craved a little more juice, colour or specifics on injuries, but that wasn’t Skubala’s remit.
The former under-21 boss, now permanently a part of Javi Gracia’s first-team staff, stuck to the facts and read the room. Talking too much to the media or oversharing was not helpful when the club was lurching from seven to eight, nine and 10 matches without a win.
Gracia seems to have found some common ground with Skubala in that regard. The former Watford man has only been in the building for five minutes, but his opening press conference chimed with the tone his caretaker predecessor had set.
Gracia was reserved, quietly spoken and respectful. His English stomped all over the media room’s Spanish skills, but there was, understandably, a caution in his tone as he carefully picked his way through a foreign language.
More than the language barrier, Gracia is an experienced head already keenly aware of what’s before him. And that’s despite his work permit only dropping through the letterbox 15 minutes before his introductory briefing began.
Those of us waiting for the pre-Southampton conference at Thorp Arch did not officially know who we would be interviewing until his visa press release landed. Gracia’s officially been in the building for five minutes, but his answers showed he knew this was not the time for grand proclamations of liquid football or top-half charges.
The 52-year-old actively resisted invitations to talk about his tactical philosophy or what we might expect at Elland Road on Saturday. "Try to play well,” he said. “After, we can speak about what is playing well.”
Results first, Inverting the Pyramid later.
Injury news was given a wide berth too. You can sense this has been a hectic, frantic week of paperwork in order to make this a reality. Around all of the video analysis and preparation needed for Southampton, Gracia would be forgiven for not quite yet having a handle on Stuart Dallas’s recovery plan.
Gracia did not want to overextend himself or stray into territory he wasn’t comfortable with. The objective, avoiding relegation, was repeatedly the destination in his answers. He knows everything else is largely immaterial, including his contract.
The ‘flexible’ description Leeds gave Gracia’s deal was jarring and inevitably a topic of discussion on Friday. “After the objective, we'll speak,” he said.
“I don't want to be here because I have a contract, or I don't want the club to have a difficult situation because they have a coach they don't want in the club. It's better to be focused on the next game.
“It's my objective as well to win and finish the season with the objective. I'm not worried about my future."
His situation is not important, United’s is, that was the message. Unity too. Gracia was already referring to the team as ‘my players’ and signed off with the kind of message Elland Road will relish.
“I expect our supporters will be player number 12 for us,” he said. “We need them. What we have to do is, from the beginning to the end, we need to give our best.
“What I said to my players today, is that tomorrow we have to give extra effort because the team need it. Tomorrow is the day."
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