Faced with a bad run of results, many managers will blink.
They may move from a back three to a back four, shift the time of training sessions or reduce the length of meetings. A big-name player may be dropped unexpectedly to set an example, or the manager will start to name the team two hours before kick-off, rather than on the previous day.
Apart from leaving out Emi Martinez for one game when the Argentine was in the eye of a transfer storm, Unai Emery did none of these things. There was no ‘Plan B’, just a desire to do ‘Plan A’ even more thoroughly, despite a six-game winless run at the start of the season and growing concern among players and supporters.