Ange Postecoglou insists the domestic cup competitions are his priority as Tottenham manager.
It comes after his Spurs side were knocked out of the EFL Cup last night by Fulham.
The hosts prevailed on penalties at Craven Cottage in the second-round tie of the League Cup, the first available piece of silverware of the season.
Postecoglou made nine changes to his side from the weekend win over Bournemouth.
The defeat on spot kicks, after a 1-1 draw in regular time, saw Spurs suffer their earliest League Cup exit since 2005.
Daniel Levy has tasked Postecoglou with delivering trophy success in North London given his recent track record at Celtic. It's been 15 years since any major silverware was lifted by the club.
And despite making wholesale changes to his team, Postecoglou was adamant that doesn't mean he was dismissive of the competition, explaining he had to find out more about some of his players.
He 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.
"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 (the cups) 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."
