An overnight hotel stay the evening before a home game. Warming up in front of the away fans. Swapping places in the dressing room ahead of kick-off.
Burton Albion have tried plenty of on-field variations over the past six months in search of that elusive Pirelli Stadium victory.
But ahead of Saturday's clash against play-off hopefuls Bristol City, it was the details of preparation that were switched to give Albion's players "something different" and "a fresh approach", according to Nigel Clough.
They cannot be criticised for a lack of trying in that sense, although for all the differences, Clough was left to discuss a frustratingly familiar topic after the final whistle.
Goals, or a lack of them, are undermining the Brewers’ bid to move out of the bottom three for the first time this year and clear of relegation danger.
That is particularly true on home soil, where a failure to convert a couple of gilt-edged chances against the Robins extended Albion's home drought to four games.
By the time they host Middlesbrough at the Pirelli on April 2, Burton will have gone more than two months without finding the net at the Pirelli.
A composed finish was all this performance really lacked from Clough's side, who got the better of an attritional yet captivating contest that ended in a third successive goalless draw between these two teams.
Such was Albion's defensive solidity throughout, they rarely looked like succumbing to their usual second-half slump against a team who were looking to break back into the top six on the day.
Each of a back four of Tom Flanagan, Tom Naylor, Kyle McFadzean and Damien McCrory stood up and stood out, resisting City's patient build-up in the first half and then a more direct onslaught after the break.
That put the onus onto the Brewers' quality at the other end, and whether they could capitalise on a performance played at a good tempo and intensity for around an hour of the game.
They could not, Liam Boyce and Hope Akpan unable to convert the game's two best chances within 10 seconds of each other in the first 45, after which the hosts' efforts began to tire.
That is perhaps a little unsurprising given the growing injury list at the Pirelli, with Lucas Akins and Boyce's names added to it here.
Other players are still working their way back to full fitness, too, as Albion's squad depth is tested.
The sight of Akins limping from the field with a hamstring problem was an early blow to a Brewers team boasting four changes from the midweek defeat to Brentford.
With those pre-match ritual changes not the only alterations, Clough opted for a 4-4-2 setup, with Boyce and Darren Bent starting together for the first time, and two other recognised strikers involved elsewhere.
Marvin Sordell came into the side on the left flank, with Akins pushed forward to the right wing as Flanagan started at right-back.
In the middle, Hope Akpan returned from an ankle injury to partner Luke Murphy, an opportunity for experience to shine after the recent performances of Jacob Davenport and Jamie Allen.
It was from the middle that Albion's early intent showed, as Murphy hared around the field to hoover up loose balls and set the home side on the front foot.
From one such surge forward after five minutes did Akins appear to pull up, forced to leave the game alongside physio Nick Fenton, with Lloyd Dyer replacing him and Sordell moving over to the right.
Credit to Burton, their momentum was unaffected by that setback, with Boyce nodding a wicked Flanagan delivery over and a 25-yard effort from Akpan then following the same route.
The irrepressible Murphy also took aim, his long-range attempt curving away from goal, with Frank Fielding able to watch it go by.
While this Brewers side have not lacked attacking intent or endeavour during their recent dry spell, opposition goalkeepers have not been tested enough.
Fielding, though, would be called into action twice in quick succession just before the break - and in slightly bizarre circumstances.
The first save was a good one, the ex-Derby County keeper making himself big to deny Akpan from close range after the Burton midfielder ushered the onrushing Dyer out of the way in an attempt to convert Boyce's through-ball.
Possession was recycled back to McFadzean who unleashed a powerful strike that appeared to be flying wide.
Boyce was awake to it and dived across to turn it home, making contact within a yard or two of the goal line.
Albion fans waited for the net to bulge, expectant of seeing that long-awaited goal.
Instead, the Northern Ireland international hooked it back across goal and into the arms of the grateful Fielding, who was still stood on the spot from which he had denied Akpan moments earlier.
For the fifth time in six home outings, then, the teams returned to the dressing rooms level at half-time.
Given what has gone before, it was surely a situation that better suited the Robins, themselves struggling for form.
Lee Johnson will have informed his players of the Brewers' second-half struggles at the Pirelli, and they did look a more effective unit after the break.
Where Albion's defence was rarely tested for the opening 45 - a Jamie Paterson shot tipped over by Stephen Bywater aside - they were stretched more as the game wore on.
Famara Diedhiou was unable to convert Lloyd Kelly's searching cross as the visitors pushed down the left flank, while McFadzean was forced into a couple of timely blocks in his own area.
He and Naylor looked back to their composed best after the odd wobble against Brentford, while McCrory too let little down his side of the pitch.
For all their solidity, though, Burton lacked quality or pace in possession in the second half on an afternoon where defences thrived.
Their efforts were not helped by the enforced withdrawal of Boyce, who suffered a knock to the ankle.
While Sordell and Flanagan curled shots wide of the City target, it was captain McFadzean who looked as likely as anyone to spark a late salvo, charging forward on more than one occasion from centre-half to get his team on the front foot.
The final chance of the game, though, fell to Bristol City's Josh Brownhill, forcing Bywater into his second and last save of the day.
He grasped the 18-yard strike as Albion grasped the chance to gain a point on relegation rivals Sunderland, Birmingham City and Barnsley, who all lost.
The first two of those sides lie in wait for the Brewers during what could be a fascinating April push for survival.
They must get to that stage in touch, though - and Burton's Championship credentials are about to undergo a severe test away at Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers before the international break.
