Mauricio Pochettino admitted that Tottenham’s back-to-back defeats led to him selecting such a strong line-up for the FA Cup win at Fulham.
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick as Spurs won 3-0 to emphatically book their place in the quarter-finals.
And boss Pochettino explained that his top players were determined to make amends after losing to Liverpool in the Premier League and Gent in the Europa League.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Pochettino said: “My intention was to try to take the best decision for the team and with the best players to try to win. That is always my objective.
“After two defeats, against Liverpool and Gent, many players wanted to play and didn’t feel they were tired. It was a great opportunity today to show that we are alive.
“After two defeats, I feel very pleased because all the players wanted to play in a very difficult stadium against a very difficult team.
“For us it was a big boost of confidence and that was important.”
Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic noted that Tottenham’s recent results were the reason for their team selection – and therefore suggested they were a major factor in the outcome at Craven Cottage.
“Spurs showed us respect and Pochettino showed it with his starting 11,” Jokanovic said.
“After two defeats they didn’t want to take so many risks and it’s very clear that they came into this game on a high level. All credit for that.
“We can learn about how they work without the ball. They showed humility during the game when all working together, and I was impressed with that.
“It was different to our competition, where we can dominate teams and have possession of the ball.”