Ian Baraclough insists he won't use September's Nations League openers to "experiment" with his squad.
Northern Ireland have games against Romania and Norway ahead of October's massive Euro 2020 playoff semi-final against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Baraclough insists he won't road test new players in the Nations League, describing the games as "dress rehearsals" for the playoff.
If Northern Ireland win in Zenica, they will have home advantage for the final against either Slovakia or the Republic of Ireland, and a chance to reach next summer's rescheduled finals.
“It’s not a time to be experimental," Baraclough told the Irish FA website.
"We can’t waste these games and we will be playing to win. They are dress rehearsals for the Bosnia game."
Baraclough will meet up with his backroom staff next week to plot Northern Ireland's assault on the Nations League and Euro playoff.
Fresh from his appointment last month, he will travel to Scotland from his base in England for face-to-face meetings with assistant Jimmy Nicholl and coach Austin MacPhee.
Under 17 and 19s manager Stephen Frail will also join the discussions, where it is hoped captain Steven Davis will also be in attendance.
“We need to get back to winning ways after not registering a competitive win for a while, albeit we did come up against two of the heavyweights of world football (Germany and Netherlands) last autumn,” Baraclough added.
“The Nations League is very important in terms of ranking points towards the World Cup 2022 qualifiers, and the first two matches are important for preparation for the Bosnia game.”
