MADRID (AFP) - Promising that there would be "no revolutions" and warning echoing his predecessor's forecast that coaching Real Madrid was a "tough but beautiful task," unheralded Mariano Garcia Remon stepped out of the shadows to replace Jose Antonio Camacho at the Bernabeu.
"There will be no revolutions. It's a tough task but a very beautiful one to be able to take on an interesting project," Remon said as he emerged blinking into the limelight at the world's biggest football-cum-marketing machine.
With almost precisely 30 hours to prepare the side for a Spanish league game on Tuesday at home to Osasuna it was music to Remon's ears to hear all-powerful club president Florentino Perez insist that the new man at the helm "is not a transitory coach."
Rather, Perez hoped that Remon will be a "recognised madridista, who embodies the culture of the club, as well as being a great person of experience" take the club forward and serve it for "many years."
"He will be there for this season and we hope much longer, this is not transitory," Perez insisted on Radio Marca.
Yet with only three league games and one Champions League game played this term Real have changed horses not so much in mid-stream but with one front hoof of their white charger having barely left the riverbank.
Moreover, Real have been here before often enough - and under Perez's own stewardship.
Last year he decided it was time to wield a new broom, sacking Vicente Del Bosque, himself a 'recognised madridista' to the extent that in less than four years at the helm he had landed not just two league titles but two European Cups.
For Perez, however, a breath of fresh air was required in the shape of former (and indeed now current) Manchester United assistant coach Carlos Queiroz.
A Champions League quarter-final knockout and fourth place finish in the league later and Queiroz was history, Perez saying hiring the hapless Portuguese had been "a mistake" all along.
Enter Camacho, eight times a league champion with Real and a man whose blood would surely bleed meringue white if one were to cut him and his observation that "I am alone, the dressing room does not back me" would suggest there are those who have tried.
Yet Camacho's resignation after a Champions League thumping at Bayer Leverkusen and a limp league loss to Espanyol is a spectacular case of deja vu.
The former Spanish national coach had spent all of 23 days in charge in 1998 only to fall out with former president Lorenzo Sanz over transfer policy and quit, only to be welcomed back into the fold six years later.
After a Portuguese Cup netted during a sabbatical at Benfica the 49-year-old Camacho, who had previously performed 'fireman' roles at several clubs, including Rayo Vallecano (1991-93), Sevilla (1996-97) and Espanyol (1997-98), returned only to find the heat in a galactico-filled kitchen too much to bear.
While taking responsibility for losses on the pitch Camacho's off-pitch asides have spoken volumes.
"I don't feel I have the team's backing and prefer to step down," was an observation which said it all.
Despite talk in the media of dressing room intrigue some players have spoken up for him, including the outspoken Roberto Carlos.
"We as players are to blame and take responsibility," insisted the Brazilian wingback.
"Camacho is a good guy - a spectacular person who takes the blame on behalf of everyone," the World Cup winner told Onda Cero radio, while adding that "I've lived through worse situations at Real Madrid.
Reserve keeper Cesar Sanchez told Cadena Ser radio Real had been full of "anxiety" in recent games and welcomed Remon's promotion as "we need someone who knows us well, such as Mariano."
Perez, who has sought to stuff as many galactico superstars into a team which looks so often more like a collection of gifted individuals, admitted meanwhile that "this squad of players with so much talent is tough to administer."
He added curtly that "we are a club which seeks excellence and perfection," while accepting that for a coach "the pressure that goes with (the post) is difficult to imagine."
Now Remon has the pressure demon on his back - until such time as Perez decides to cast a glance elsewhere, perhaps in the direction of former Real favourite Hugo Sanchez, who led Mexico's Pumas to a friendly win at the Bernabeu last month.
Other candidates could variously include former Dortmund and Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, or maybe even England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Then there is former Valencia and Inter Milan technician Hector Cuper, or ex-Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa.
Or perhaps this time the ejector seat will be nailed down for long enough for the new incumbent to prove his worth and football's most unforgiving environment.