Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou said his team's rearguard action in a 2-0 win at Brentford on Sunday was simply because injuries have left him with a threadbare squad, rather than a sudden outburst of pragmatism.
The Australian coach has been battling an injury crisis, which has forced him to play 18-year-old midfielder Archie Gray at centre back, with Micky van de Ven rested after playing 45 minutes on his return in the Europa League in midweek.
Spurs' European campaign -- which continues after Thursday's victory over Elfsborg confirmed their round-of-16 place -- has given Postecoglou's remaining fit players little chance for recovery as their league form has slumped.
But Spurs are still fighting for silverware on three fronts, the metric by which they will ultimately measure this season and which may keep Postecoglou in his job.
Postecoglou has repeatedly cited his squad's mounting injury list in the face of poor results, growing increasingly exasperated at reporters' questions about Spurs' performances.
And he let out a rueful laugh when asked if his side's defensive resilience and low block during large parts of their 2-0 win over Brentford on Sunday were a tactical shift away from his usual attacking "Angeball."
"How do I say this without sort of repeating myself and not sounding like an excuse? It's very difficult for a group of players to play Thursday and Sunday and maintain energy and levels," Postecoglou told reporters.
"What they're doing is giving maximum effort and maximum effort in a game like today means that you can't be sharp and really dynamic with and without the ball, it's just impossible.
"They're human beings and not robots. People want to dismiss it, they want to talk about excuses, but that's the reality, I know the reality.
"These guys are giving everything. We knew today wasn't going to be a game where we could go out there and dominate, because Brentford had a week to prepare for this.
"We had 50-something hours [after the Elfsborg game] with the same group of players. So I think, with that context, I think the performance was outstanding."
Postecoglou also welcomed the loan signing of defender Kevin Danso, though he warned that the injury centre-back Radu Dragusin suffered in midweek "doesn't look good."
He said the club were considering further additions to the squad, but added: "We don't want to bring just anyone in and sometimes that takes a bit longer."