Jurgen Klopp asked for Liverpool's young players to be given time to develop after they helped see off Exeter in Wednesday's FA Cup third-round replay.
Goals came from Joe Allen, Sheyi Ojo and Joao Teixeira, and it was the eye-catching performances of 18-year-old winger Ojo and 23-year-old Portuguese midfielder Teixeira that the manager was concerned would have people expecting too much too soon.
But Klopp acknowledged that the future was unclear for Teixeira, who is out of contract in the summer and has had limited opportunities to shine.
A comfortable victory gave Klopp a more enjoyable evening than he had feared, he admitted, after the initial tie against the League Two club on Jan. 8 had finished 2-2.
"I could not imagine tonight would be sold out, with the information that we would play with the young players -- so thank you," Klopp told his postmatch news conference.
"A really enjoyable night for football -- the lads enjoyed it, everybody could see. They worked hard, they created chances, they scored goals -- wonderful goals -- they made mistakes, reacted the right way to the mistakes, they fought really against an opponent. I have to say my first impression of League Two football -- I know their position in the table is not too good -- is it's a good league.
"They had a lot of good players, and it was very experienced against very young. Three of their players together were older than my whole starting lineup. So it was really hard work for the boys and I was pleased with the performance.
"Two weeks ago I could not have imagined I would enjoy a replay in an FA Cup match -- now I did, so thanks for this. Thanks FA Cup!"
He was cautious about Teixeira, who starred on loan at Brighton last season and has had to wait patiently for his chance back at Anfield.
"I like Joao, he's a really nice guy and good footballer. But of course players like him need matches. If you can't get it where you are, you have to [decide] -- it should not be my decision. It's not allowed to be three, four years a substitute at this age; you have to play. I would like to work for longer with him because it's only been four months [working together] and I see his big jumps in development and he showed it tonight.
"He deserved the goal, he worked hard; it was really man football that he played, defensively strong, good moments in offence, it was really good.
"So we are always in talks but we have to speak about this, see what he wants and what we want and it has to fit. It's not possible that all players stay here.
Sometimes you have to leave -- I'm not sure that is the situation for Joao but it's he has been a long time now in this position. He did really well in the Championship [with Brighton], really good, then he came back and had not a bad position, sometimes he is a little bit closer."
Similar applied to Ojo, with the manager keen not to build expectations too high.
"He's very young, so not too much," Klopp said. "Not 20 interviews next week, not man of the match and things -- leave the guys where they are. Everybody who sees him play sees what skills he has but he has a lot of things he has to work on.
"I'm happy to have him here, he made a goal -- not too bad -- and in the last game he came in and was important for [getting] the draw. He's in a good way, but [it's] a long way for these young boys. They showed tonight nearly everything that they are already able to do and they showed what they have to learn. That's always [true] at this age. If everybody stays cool, fine."
Klopp added that he was not intending to hold players back but had a clear idea of the standard they needed to reach: readiness for the rigours of the Premier League.
"It's not protecting, but giving the lads time to develop," he said. "Tonight was a good moment and they had a few really impressive things but a lot of things to learn. The target at the end of the road has to be Liverpool FC, Premier League, and for this you have to be ready in all parts of development. That's where we try to help the boys."
The manager pledged to try to turn the players who had faced Exeter into long-term prospects, and emphasised this would not always involve headline-grabbing performances.
Asked how he intended to take them to the next level, he replied: "Work with them -- that doesn't mean that they play -- how can we, we cannot bring them all in every week in the Premier League.
"A few weeks ago I said we need to have all our best players here at Liverpool FC. [Ryan] Kent was on loan, Ojo was on loan, Kevin Stewart was on loan, Tiago [Ilori] was on loan. We need to keep them here because football is not individual development. You have to develop as a team and learn your position. It's not always to impress on your own -- you have to work as a team and know about your job."
Anfield hailed the return to action of Jon Flanagan as a second-half substitute after 20 months out with a knee injury, and Klopp paid tribute to the right-back's attitude in fighting back to fitness.
"Flanno, when he came in, it was a great moment," Klopp said. "I had him in training not too often until now because we have to be really careful with him. It's not allowed with him to have high intensity, so it's always training, break, training, break, recovery. He had a few minutes for the under-21s. Connor Randall had a little problem with a muscle, but that was the opportunity for us to bring in Flanno.
"It was a real emotional moment -- the whole stadium stood up and clapped, it was really good. Nobody deserved it more than him. It was such a long time, an unbelievably long time. Since I was here he was always injured, but never in a bad mood -- that's unbelievable; he's a really strong lad. So hopefully now it goes on. We have to take it day by day but it's one of the best [pieces of] news we could get that he is back."