Southampton No2 Jesus Perez defended their team selection for defeat in the FA Cup to Sunderland.
Perez, standing in for Mauricio Pochettino at the post-match press conference, was quick to defend the decision not to field a stronger side.
Perez said: "Always, we do the same. After the last game, we assessed our players and we decided the best team to play today.
"Obviously, it was a tough game against Hull, we played away as well, we came home late and some of our players were not fully recovered and we decided the best players to play today.
"For us, every single player is important and useful for us and it doesn't matter who is on the pitch.
"When we win, we win as a team. Today, we didn't get anything as a team as well.
"But I have nothing to say. There was a lack of freshness, that's obvious, but nothing more.
"When we decide to play with one or another player, it's because we trust them, they trust us. They support us, so there's nothing to complain about."
