“The idea to have alternative plans, which is considered a virtue, I don’t really share this point of view. Our goal is to do better, not to stop what we are doing or change the style."
So said Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa when questioned on the merits of a 'Plan B' to his brand of entertaining high-octane football back in 2018.
Bielsa, while a highly respected name in world football, hadn't yet made his stamp on English football, and a 2-2 draw at Swansea City was clearly enough to prompt some early questions over his way of doing things.
For what it's worth, anyone who utters Bielsa's name in certain parts of west Yorkshire will be met with almost universal adulation. Promotion to the Premier Legaue will do that.
But in the end, after four years, the doubts arguably overtook the Argentine.
When news broke of his impending departure from Elland Road, hours after the 4-0 defeat to Tottenham, the crescendo of questions of Bielsa's apparent stubbornness for change had arguably reached its peak.
Over the course of this season, Martin Keown has picked up on his refusal to turn away from man-marking, Paul Merson has questioned whether Bielsa's 'full blast' approach merited his apparent 'genius' tag while one tabloid title wrote him off as a gimmick pedalled by 'broadsheet hipsters'.
In short, the critics believed Bielsa was undone by his refusal to change, rendering his methods, a little, well, predictable.
Incidentally, 'predictable' was a word that was batted away by Russell Martin this week, with the Swansea boss launching a defence of his own philosophy that showed a certain level of overlap with the Argentine in light of last weekend's calamitous defeat at Sheffield United.
Nothing raises concerns like a few thumping defeats - a record of 14 goals conceded in four games looks to have ultimately finished Bielsa off at Elland Road, after all.
So, having watched their side let in nine goals without reply in their last three away games, concerns from Swans fans can hardly be considered a surprise.
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That said, Martin still has, by and large, plenty of goodwill in the bank from the Jack Army. Many are still sympathetic when he, and indeed some of his players, point to the lack of a pre-season under his leadership - and the fact he's only had one transfer window to shape his squad.
Bielsa made similar pleas for patience in his early days at Leeds.
“To transmit a style, you need time to do it,” he said when pressed further on his methods back in 2018. “Sometimes it happens in a short time, sometimes you need more. When you win games it makes it easier because human beings believe more quickly in things that allow them to triumph."
The summer transfer window already feels hugely significant for Martin, who will know that patience might not be so forthcoming this time next year, but he nevertheless will feel he's already done enough to be given a chance to truly stamp his mark on this Swans side.
And his comments this week, while pointing to slight tweaks on the training ground, suggest the fundamentals are likely to stay the same.
“It’s up to us to find the solution to different problems we may face, if people think it’s predictable then we have to become so good at it that we can still really hurt teams. I think we have shown we can do that," he said.
“We have to be able to mix it up more for sure, I think we have got trapped a few times recently in ways we are trying to avoid and hopefully you will see a difference in that with more work on the training pitch ahead of Monday night (at West Brom).
“But, when you have a very clear vision for something, and you have been asked to bring something to this club, the minute you compromise on one thing that is really important to the team it becomes a slippery slope, in my opinion.
“I have been there as a player lots of times, you start doing that and maybe one thing becomes a grey area. Then it happens with the next thing, and the next thing, and before you know it you are just like everyone else."
While they might not be like everyone else, their Jekyll and Hyde persona certainly serves up another similarity to Bielsa's men.
At their best, Leeds played some genuinely beautiful and exciting football that delighted everyone lucky to enough to see it.
But at their worst, they wouldn't just lose, they'd be absolutely smashed.
Martin himself has seemingly conceded that his own side are following a similar pattern right now, a state of affairs he's taken full responsibility for.
“The gap between us at our best and at our worst is far too big," he said after the humbling at Bramall Lane. "The gap between us at home and us away from home is too big, and that is my fault and I have to sort that out."
But any effort to remedy his side's woes will likely be about evolution rather than revolution, such is Martin's belief in the identity he has helped to instill at the club.
A respect for identity was a key reason Martin was such an attractive option for Swansea's hierarchy. Incidentally, it's also why Bielsa will remain such a beloved figure for so many Leeds fans.
But his departure from Elland Road proves that even outright adoration can only provide a finite level of insulation from the cold, hard reality of the league table.
At the same time, it's a pertinent reminder of the pitfalls that sometimes lie around the corner when a manager refuses to budge on their most fundamental of principles.
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