SAM Allardyce insisted today that he would not have been doing his job properly if he had gone for broke in the Worthington Cup.

The Reebok boss remains unrepentant, despite coming under increasing fire for fielding a weakened team in Tuesday's quarter-final at Spurs.

He maintains his indifference to the competition and reckons he has more reason than either Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger to place it bottom of his priority list.

"It is all about priorities," Allardyce said, insisting the 6-0 hammering had caused no lasting damage. "And my priority is the Premiership.

"It's more important for me to change my smaller squad (for the Worthington Cup) than for Arsene Wenger or Alex Ferguson because it's the financial difference between the First Division and the Premiership that is the order of the day. And for me to go and ignore that would mean I was not doing the best job for the club."

Wanderers have been savagely criticised, particularly in the national media, for making eight changes for Tuesday's tie, when they were just three steps away from qualifying for Europe.

Unlike Ferguson and Wenger, who have snubbed the Worthington Cup to focus on Champions League qualification, Allardyce revealed before the Spurs game that Wanderers were not ready for Europe and that Premiership survival was the be all and end all.

"Arsenal and Manchester United are not deep in debt as we are," he pointed out. "We need to stay in the Premiership because the difference between the financial gains are astronomical. That is the priority and not the Worthington Cup.

"Our players need resting more than the top players at Arsenal and Manchester United because the demands are so great and it's their first time there. The top players know all about the levels they have to achieve."