Roberto De Zerbi has snapped back at criticism in the wake of Tottenham's 2-0 win at a much-rotated Aston Villa.
Spurs secured a vital three points in their quest to beat relegation on Sunday night against a Villa team showing seven changes from their Europa League semifinal first leg with Nottingham Forest.
A poor Villa display sparked a wave of strong reaction in the media over Unai Emery's line up, and Talksport pundit Simon Jordan described the performance as a "disgrace" and felt sorry for 18th-placed West Ham.
However, De Zerbi questioned why there was no similar view on Forest's rotated team in their 3-1 win at Chelsea on Monday.
"Yes, but for Nottingham Forest, no? Nottingham Forest's [line up] was maybe [containing] more changes than Aston Villa, no? And [the] first half [was] 2-0 for Nottingham Forest -- and [has] anyone said nothing? No," De Zerbi said.
"I think Aston Villa have [Matt] Cash, [Victor] Lindelöf, [Tyrone] Mings, the captain of Villa, [Ian] Maatsen, one of the best left-backs in Europe.
"[Youri] Tielemans is normally in the starting 11, [Morgan] Rogers, [Jadon] Sancho, [Ross] Barkley and [Tammy] Abraham as a forward and striker, I think was a great starting [line up].
"I don't know if they are better or worse. I can say one thing, we played without [Cristian] Romero, [Dejan] Kulusevski, [Mohammed] Kudus, [Dominic] Solanke, Xavi Simons, [James] Maddison and maybe more players than Villa.
"And it is better if the people speak about us than we speak about them."
Asked whether the fall-out had been a surprise, De Zerbi said: "No, in Italy we are used to thinking in the bad way about this situation, but it is not true. It is not true."
João Palhinha starred in Sunday's win at Villa and ahead of Monday's visit of Leeds, De Zerbi revealed he "100%" wants to keep the Bayern Munich loanee.
Palhinha joined last August on a season-long loan in a deal which included the option to make the move permanent for a fee of €30 million ($35m).
De Zerbi added: "Yes, 100%. We have to start from this type of people. More than players, we need reliable people, reliable players.
"Palhinha is one of the best, as a player for sure, but as a guy [also]. I want to see the player with the same passion, the same attitude, the same spirit, the same personality. And we are lucky to have Palhinha."
Spurs remain without Guglielmo Vicario due to a hernia issue, but Solanke was not ruled out of the Leeds clash despite his hamstring injury.
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Maddison has been on the bench for Tottenham's last three fixtures after a serious knee injury and De Zerbi remained coy on his availability.
"No, Vicario is not ready yet," De Zerbi said.
"I'm thinking about James Maddison because I'm watching a top, top player.
"Maybe he's not ready yet to play, but as a physical condition, not for the rhythm, for the intensity of the game. We are playing in the Premier League, the most difficult league in terms of intensity and rhythm.
"About Solanke, he's improving very quickly. I don't know, for this game, I don't know if he can be available. We hope for the next game [Chelsea]."