Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou defended his team selection after losing to Fulham on penalties in their second round Carabao Cup clash.
Richarlison canceled out an own goal from Micky van de Ven to take the game to a shootout, only for Davinson Sanchez to have his penalty saved and Fulham to win the tie.
Postecoglou later said: “Obviously disappointed with the outcome, getting knocked out of the cup. We weren’t at our fluent best particularly early on which was not surprising considering the amount of changes I made. A lot of the boys tonight, it was their first start of the season.
“We lacked cohesion and fluency. But I really liked the way we hung in there. There are many different ways to grow as a team and we showed some real character tonight. To hang in there and we had our moments in the second half to maybe go and win it. We weren’t able to get over the line and lost on penalties.
“It is my priority but there is no European football so how am I going to find out about our players? What opportunity would I have to do that other than the game? They are all part of our club. We thought they’d be able to bring a different energy tonight, and that doesn’t mean the cup or any game isn’t our priority.
“From my perspective, we’re very much at the discovery stage so we need to find out and give the players the opportunity to contribute. Because that’s why they’re here – they’re not just here to make up the numbers. They keep working hard and deserved the opportunity to go out and play tonight.”
