Russell Martin insists Rangers will need to rely upon the strength of the first team squad throughout the 2025/26 season.
Eyebrows were raised pre-match when James Tavernier and Nicolas Raskin were omitted from Martin's starting line-up for the Champions League third round qualifier against Viktoria Plzen.
The game ended 3-0 to the hosts, with one foot in the play-off round now secured.
Martin admits he doesn't like the word 'dropped,' as he pointed out he'll utilise a different XI for Saturday's game against Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.
"I'm really happy with a lot of it," he told BBC Scotland. "A bit annoyed with the last 15 minutes since I felt we had the ball too much in our own half, but that's my job to be demanding of the guys.
"I think from Saturday to today, they took everything on, amazing energy at the start of the game, and real moments of quality actually.
"It's really difficult to learn a lot of detail and apply it with the right intensity and courage all the time, especially after a tough afternoon on Saturday, so I'm really proud of the team.
"I don't like the word dropped. I said that to the guys, you don't get dropped from the team, we're going to need everyone.
Read more:
-
James Tavernier & Nicolas Raskin Rangers benching addressed by head coach
-
The big Martin calls that paid dividends for Rangers, Gassama and Antman shine
"People are going to come in, people are going to come out, so we need that freshness.
"It's not easy to drop anyone, especially players that have been really important to this team over the last however long, but the decisions are all difficult, one is not tougher than the other.
"You have to do what you think is best for the team to win on the night and, to be fair, they've come on and played brilliantly.
"I know there's a tendency up here for one thing to become a big thing really quickly, and it's not at all. Tonight was the best team, and Saturday will be a different team again I'm sure."
Oliver Antman and Djeidi Gassama were the stars of the show on either wing for the hosts.
The latter scored his third and fourth goals of the Champions League qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Antman came straight in for his debut after signing yesterday. He won his new team a penalty, which was converted by Cyriel Dessers for 2-0, before providing a delicious cross for Gassama to score the third of the evening.
Martin added: "I think you can see why we wanted to sign him (Antman). He's game, he's willing, he's really competitive and he has moments of real quality.
"So I'm really pleased for him because he's a really good kid, and I think he'll be a really good player for us.
"We spoke about the need for some winger-to-winger goals.
"Gassama is really stepping up in terms of intensity, he really wants to score. We showed him a lot of clips when we signed him where he ends up too far away from goal.
"He's taken on the information really, really well."