Speaking at a press conference last week, Mauricio Pochettino seized a chance to address his selections in cup competitions. When it was pointed out to him that Spurs had kept clean sheets against Sunderland and Middlesbrough despite missing key players in the rearguard, he was keen to stress the importance of giving reserve players game time and keeping them up to speed.
"The big problem is to understand why the manager sometimes doesn't [appear to] care about some competitions," he said. "It's not like this. Sometimes it's not the No. 1 that will be decisive in achieving big things.