Chris Wilder swept into a meeting at the Sheffield United training ground and declared his intention to play with three central defenders.
Eyebrows were raised as his coaching staff noted they barely had time to work on it ahead of their next fixture, a League One clash at Gillingham.
Wilder conceded this was true. But he was sure the system would suit their players and, besides, they had all been practising for months with a flat back four that wasn't getting them anywhere.
There's more to Sheffield United than Wilder and credit is due to his backroom team and the players for their rise to the top. And yet it all revolves around their no-frills manager.
The pre-Gills tactical switch came in September 2016, less than a fortnight after a loss at Millwall which is now part of Blades folklore. Four games into Wilder's first season, they had crashed to the bottom of League One after losing to a late penalty at the Den.
As the team bus crawled through the streets of south London, Wilder asked the driver to pull over, stuffed £100 in cash into the hands of captain Billy Sharp and sent him to an off-licence to buy beers for the lads.
Two promotions later and they are fifth in the Premier League with 17 points from 12 games and above Manchester United, who visit Bramall Lane on Sunday.
Wilder's players are well on their way towards splitting a £10million survival bonus, a far cry from a crate of ale at the back of a bus.
Dave Bassett first recommended Wilder for the job in 2015 when Nigel Adkins was appointed. It took them a year but eventually Sheffield United listened to their former manager.
Wilder played for Bassett's Blades in the 1980s and 1990s when they stormed the top flight and some of his moves are from the same playbook, harnessing momentum and fuelling spirit by keeping the nucleus of his squad together.
'If you change the whole team you can't have the same spirit,' said Bassett. 'This team have gelled over three seasons. Don't underestimate the power of togetherness and work ethic.
'Chris is experienced. Not with top clubs but he's been around, listening to ideas and forming his own. He and (assistant) Alan Knill know how they want to play, they've got belief in it and the players see that, so they feed off it.'
Knill is a popular figure, the yin to Wilder's yang. Knill is more quiet and diligent. Wilder cajoles and inspires. Striker Callum Robinson was bitterly disappointed to be replaced after less than an hour at West Ham last month, but his mileage stats were so good that Sheffield United's analysts called the Hammers to ask if the GPS system they used was working properly.
Wilder called for Robinson and showered him with praise for his selfless running and how it was a crucial factor in their 1-1 draw.
Wing back John Lundstram feared the worst when summoned after a campaign when he made only five Championship starts but Wilder told him to go home and prepare for the Premier League.
Lundstram took a fitness coach with him on holiday to Dubai last summer and his improvement has been the revelation of the Blades' season.
Wilder can make a player feel 10 feet tall. Equally, he can cut them adrift. Mark Duffy told Wilder he thought he deserved a pay rise after last season. Duffy is now on loan at Stoke.
The bedrock of this season's team has been the back nine, with all but on-loan Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson sourced from clubs in the Football League. It is a testament to head of recruitment Paul Mitchell, who arrived from Chesterfield in 2016 at Wilder's behest.
Mitchell, namesake of the former Southampton and Tottenham recruitment guru who is now at RB Leipzig, is recovering after a recent heart attack.
John Fleck and Enda Stevens were signed on free transfers. None of Jack O'Connell, George Baldock, Lundstram or Chris Basham — the only first-team regular to pre-date Wilder — cost more than £1m.
There is up to £5m invested in fees and wages to acquire Henderson, who is unable to face his parent club on Sunday, and money was spent to strengthen the squad and offer variation up front.
Strikers Robinson, Ollie McBurnie and Lys Mousset cost a total of £40m although David McGoldrick came on a free last year after he was released by Ipswich.
They have experienced the lower leagues and grown together. They have spirit and personality and one of those self-policing dressing-room environments which managers crave but rarely have time to nurture.
Wilder catches the bus or jogs to Bramall Lane, yet tolerates Mousset's orange Lamborghini because he trusts his players will keep egos under control.
If he feels the need to clip any wings, he won't shirk it. He is partial to a rollicking — as heard when two down at half-time at Chelsea, a game they came back to draw — and won't hesitate to take his criticism public if necessary, as he did when he refused to sympathise with Henderson after a bad error cost Sheffield United a point against Liverpool.
'It might sound harsh but it's the truth,' said Wilder.
'Chris is helping the kid. He's only pointing out the facts. If he wants to be a top goalkeeper for Manchester United in the Champions League, you've got to cut them out. Everybody watching is thinking the same thing but nobody tells you what they really think any more. They're all afraid of knocking their confidence.
'If you're ambitious you don't care about that. You want to learn and Henderson was back in for the next game.'
Tactically, Wilder has proved he can adapt. He switched to three central defenders ahead of the Gills game and the system developed naturally as they moved up League One, with Basham and O'Connell venturing forward on the now-famous overlapping forays in an attempt to break down teams sitting back.
He has operated more cautiously and added Lundstram's lung power to the midfield at the expense of a designated No 10, with the lost creativity offset by variation up front and McGoldrick's football intelligence.
Sterner tests await as Premier League opponents plot to stop them, but the Blades will evolve. So will Wilder.