Hardly surprising when a competition like the Carling Cup serves him as well as it did last night.
Grayson will never settle the argument over the effect of fighting on four fronts last season but nor is he likely to admit fault in committing himself to every tournament going.
Once again, Leeds United entered their first cup competition of the year with the air of a team who will sell their scalp to the highest bidder, if at all.
Lincoln City were dispatched inside half-an-hour of a hopelessly one-sided tie at Elland Road, swept aside in the opening round by a combination of United's dynamism and their own inhibition.
Lincoln's manager, Chris Sutton, is one coach who might conclude that this season's Carling Cup was of no discernible use to him.
Grayson, by comparison, took what he wanted from last night's game: a first competitive victory of the season and a place in the second round, achieved without fuss or the loss of any players.
Opposition from the Premier League might be United's immediate reward when the draw for the second round is made, and however bruised his squad were by their loss to Derby County on Saturday, their swift defeat of a League Two club brightened the mood with a game in Nottingham awaiting of them this weekend.
It mattered to Grayson that their defeat of Lincoln was confident and convincing; though he did not say so, it must have mattered also that Leeds avoided an extended night by scoring twice inside seven minutes and again before the interval.
With his squad already depleted, extra-time was an unwelcome possibility if not an insurmountable problem.
Jonathan Howson and Luciano Becchio settled the game before it had started and Lloyd Sam's header midway through the first half was the point at which Lincoln raised the white flag and accepted their inferiority.
It did not bend the truth to argue that a scoreline twice as severe would have treated both teams fairly, and Sutton had his goalkeeper, Joe Anyon, to thank for an honest attempt at damage limitation.
Though the result suggested otherwise, Grayson was constrained in his team selection by a total of seven missing players, among them loanee Adam Clayton who Manchester City ruled ineligible.
Leeds tried in vain to persuade the midfielder's parent club to allow him to play and were subsequently left with six substitutes, one fewer than Lincoln.
His hands tied but his commitment to the competition unwavering, Grayson made a single alteration to the team beaten by Derby, replacing Richard Naylor with Alex Bruce.
The change gave Bruce his full debut and offered Naylor a rest after what was his first 90-minute appearance for more than three months.
The centre of defence is one area where Grayson has resources to work with and Bruce's introduction was as gentle as it was competent. United's manager might be tempted to keep him there.
Sutton took the decision to field one striker, leaving Gavin McCallum in isolation up front.
To that end, Lincoln's ability to threaten Leeds was inevitably limited and their strategy was undermined by Howson scoring at the end of United's first attack and Becchio scoring at the end of their third.
Howson's goal was cheaply conceded, scored at the far post after 65 seconds with no defenders around him. Lloyd Sam flighted a routine cross over Lincoln's penalty area and a firm header from Howson flew past Anyon before City's keeper could dive to cover his prone net.
Sam's inherent creativity was an encouraging feature of pre-season, though less of an asset against Derby, and although his delivery to Howson arrived from the left flank, Grayson employed him on the right wing.
It was rather Sanchez Watt, named in Sam's preferred position, who laid on United's second in the seventh minute.
The 19-year-old exchanged passes with Bradley Johnson and burst away from Lincoln's defence before delivering a cut-back which Becchio, like Howson, could not fail to bury.
Sutton stood in his dug-out with folded arms, wondering how much worse his evening would get.
He may have known that his club have form at Elland Road, beaten 7-0 on their previous appearance at the stadium 49 years ago.
Only through the reactions of Anyon, who blocked one shot from Watt with his feet and another with both hands, did Lincoln avoid a 4-0 deficit by the 20th minute.
It was plain by that point that neither extra-time nor a penalty shoot-out would be necessary, barring the scale of fightback for which Lincoln are not renowned.
Kasper Schmeichel - United's shining light against Derby - held a low shot from Mustapha Carayol but could not pretend to look busy, enjoying the calm before the storm of an afternoon at Nottingham Forest.
At the other end of the field, Anyon was beset by a team who seemed liable to score every time they attacked his goal. Johnson's speculative shot from 30 yards dipped dangerously over the crossbar and Howson's strike at the end of a pass from Sam lacked only a fraction of accuracy, beating a post by a foot.
But with half-an-hour gone, Lincoln's defence were breached again with little difficult.
Connolly's cross dropped kindly to Sam who, with no marker to impede him, nodded the ball across Anyon and into the far corner of his net.
Sutton replaced left-back Joe Anderson with former Leeds loanee Jamie Clapham at half-time, a change which seemed as much a means of tying Leeds down as finding a route into the game, and to his relief, City began to play.
But Paul Green's loose foul on Sam with 20 minutes left gave Neil Kilkenny the chance to slip a penalty to Anyon's left, a cruel exposure of the creditable performer in Lincoln's line-up. With that, Grayson followed the substitutions of Becchio and Johnson by removing Howson from the field, proof that a rousing win had allowed his attention to turn to a date with Forest. No-one can tell him that last night was not worth the effort.
Leeds United: Schmeichel, Connolly, Bruce, Collins, Bessone, Watt, Howson (Hughes 72), Kilkenny, Johnson (White 61), Sam, Becchio (Grella 61). Subs (not used): Higgs, Naylor, Hughes, Bromby.
Lincoln City: Anyon, Green, Watts, Swaibu, Anderson (Clapham 46), Jarrett, Hughton, Kerr (Hutchinson 73), O'Keefe, Carayol, McCallum (Facey 62). Subs (not used): Musselwhite, Keltie, Broughton, Clarke.
Referee: P Tierney (Lancashire).
Attendance: 12,602.
Grayson will never settle the argument over the effect of fighting on four fronts last season but nor is he likely to admit fault in committing himself to every tournament going.
Once again, Leeds United entered their first cup competition of the year with the air of a team who will sell their scalp to the highest bidder, if at all.
Lincoln City were dispatched inside half-an-hour of a hopelessly one-sided tie at Elland Road, swept aside in the opening round by a combination of United's dynamism and their own inhibition.
Lincoln's manager, Chris Sutton, is one coach who might conclude that this season's Carling Cup was of no discernible use to him.
Grayson, by comparison, took what he wanted from last night's game: a first competitive victory of the season and a place in the second round, achieved without fuss or the loss of any players.
Opposition from the Premier League might be United's immediate reward when the draw for the second round is made, and however bruised his squad were by their loss to Derby County on Saturday, their swift defeat of a League Two club brightened the mood with a game in Nottingham awaiting of them this weekend.
It mattered to Grayson that their defeat of Lincoln was confident and convincing; though he did not say so, it must have mattered also that Leeds avoided an extended night by scoring twice inside seven minutes and again before the interval.
With his squad already depleted, extra-time was an unwelcome possibility if not an insurmountable problem.
Jonathan Howson and Luciano Becchio settled the game before it had started and Lloyd Sam's header midway through the first half was the point at which Lincoln raised the white flag and accepted their inferiority.
It did not bend the truth to argue that a scoreline twice as severe would have treated both teams fairly, and Sutton had his goalkeeper, Joe Anyon, to thank for an honest attempt at damage limitation.
Though the result suggested otherwise, Grayson was constrained in his team selection by a total of seven missing players, among them loanee Adam Clayton who Manchester City ruled ineligible.
Leeds tried in vain to persuade the midfielder's parent club to allow him to play and were subsequently left with six substitutes, one fewer than Lincoln.
His hands tied but his commitment to the competition unwavering, Grayson made a single alteration to the team beaten by Derby, replacing Richard Naylor with Alex Bruce.
The change gave Bruce his full debut and offered Naylor a rest after what was his first 90-minute appearance for more than three months.
The centre of defence is one area where Grayson has resources to work with and Bruce's introduction was as gentle as it was competent. United's manager might be tempted to keep him there.
Sutton took the decision to field one striker, leaving Gavin McCallum in isolation up front.
To that end, Lincoln's ability to threaten Leeds was inevitably limited and their strategy was undermined by Howson scoring at the end of United's first attack and Becchio scoring at the end of their third.
Howson's goal was cheaply conceded, scored at the far post after 65 seconds with no defenders around him. Lloyd Sam flighted a routine cross over Lincoln's penalty area and a firm header from Howson flew past Anyon before City's keeper could dive to cover his prone net.
Sam's inherent creativity was an encouraging feature of pre-season, though less of an asset against Derby, and although his delivery to Howson arrived from the left flank, Grayson employed him on the right wing.
It was rather Sanchez Watt, named in Sam's preferred position, who laid on United's second in the seventh minute.
The 19-year-old exchanged passes with Bradley Johnson and burst away from Lincoln's defence before delivering a cut-back which Becchio, like Howson, could not fail to bury.
Sutton stood in his dug-out with folded arms, wondering how much worse his evening would get.
He may have known that his club have form at Elland Road, beaten 7-0 on their previous appearance at the stadium 49 years ago.
Only through the reactions of Anyon, who blocked one shot from Watt with his feet and another with both hands, did Lincoln avoid a 4-0 deficit by the 20th minute.
It was plain by that point that neither extra-time nor a penalty shoot-out would be necessary, barring the scale of fightback for which Lincoln are not renowned.
Kasper Schmeichel - United's shining light against Derby - held a low shot from Mustapha Carayol but could not pretend to look busy, enjoying the calm before the storm of an afternoon at Nottingham Forest.
At the other end of the field, Anyon was beset by a team who seemed liable to score every time they attacked his goal. Johnson's speculative shot from 30 yards dipped dangerously over the crossbar and Howson's strike at the end of a pass from Sam lacked only a fraction of accuracy, beating a post by a foot.
But with half-an-hour gone, Lincoln's defence were breached again with little difficult.
Connolly's cross dropped kindly to Sam who, with no marker to impede him, nodded the ball across Anyon and into the far corner of his net.
Sutton replaced left-back Joe Anderson with former Leeds loanee Jamie Clapham at half-time, a change which seemed as much a means of tying Leeds down as finding a route into the game, and to his relief, City began to play.
But Paul Green's loose foul on Sam with 20 minutes left gave Neil Kilkenny the chance to slip a penalty to Anyon's left, a cruel exposure of the creditable performer in Lincoln's line-up. With that, Grayson followed the substitutions of Becchio and Johnson by removing Howson from the field, proof that a rousing win had allowed his attention to turn to a date with Forest. No-one can tell him that last night was not worth the effort.
Leeds United: Schmeichel, Connolly, Bruce, Collins, Bessone, Watt, Howson (Hughes 72), Kilkenny, Johnson (White 61), Sam, Becchio (Grella 61). Subs (not used): Higgs, Naylor, Hughes, Bromby.
Lincoln City: Anyon, Green, Watts, Swaibu, Anderson (Clapham 46), Jarrett, Hughton, Kerr (Hutchinson 73), O'Keefe, Carayol, McCallum (Facey 62). Subs (not used): Musselwhite, Keltie, Broughton, Clarke.
Referee: P Tierney (Lancashire).
Attendance: 12,602.