Philippe Clement spoke to the media on Friday afternoon ahead of the Canaries' Carabao Cup round one clash against MK Dons, giving injury updates and an assessment on pre-season.
On starting the competitive season with a cup tie, he said: "It doesn't matter for me whether it's League Cup or FA Cup or league; they're all competitive competitions and we want to go as far as possible in all those competitions, so it doesn't matter for me what kind of game starts it.
"I play my best team every time; in pre-season you need to build minutes and you have mixed teams but from now on, the competitive games start.
"The best team for now will not be the best team for next week, it depends from game to game for the tactics.
"It's still pre-season for some, so you need to build minutes for them."
Norwich City closed pre-season with a 0-0 draw at home to Cambridge United earlier this week.
"I think pre-season has been really positive, despite the injuries that we had.
"The injury with Ali Ahmed was a big blow but for the rest it's been really positive.
"The team has worked really hard; there were several really good games and the team is in a better position in general than they were last season.
"I think physically what the team has done and mentally bonded together has been a really good pre-season.
"Technically and tactically there were a lot of good things, although I expected more from the Cambridge game, from the players that played."
The club confirmed that Canadian international Ali Ahmed had suffered an ACL injury in the pre-season friendly against Osasuna, leaving him on the sidelines for a lengthy period.
"Ali has been really influential in the last year from the moment he came in, not only as a player but also in the dressing room.
"He's a little bit like the glue between several players, so we are going to miss that for a long time.
"About how to replace that, we are still talking inside of the club.
"Ali is a really special person, with really strong mentality; he'd already had tough moments in his life, so, he was devastated after the game like we all were.
"As a manager, I've never felt the blood run out of my body like that until now.
"Now we know the situation, he's reacting really powerfully, wanting to come back stronger; Ben Chrisene is a good example of how that can happen.
"Two days after it happened, Mo (Touré) came to speak with me and Ben (Knapper) about wanting to play with Ali's number to have Ali with us all the time on the pitch.
"He was really touched by the gesture from Mo and the team, so that's why we changed the squad number.
"He is going to be focused on his rehab and he's going to help on the sidelines with the team.
"If someone get's injured, other people get chances because of that, so we will see how that goes.
"If it's possible to replace Ali from the inside, it's a really big step, but we will see.
"The recruitment team are looking for other solutions but it needs to be the right one."
The head coach had a number of further injury updates, including the return of Ante Crnac, who played his first minutes this week since an ACL injury at the start of last season.
"He's been ten months out, so I don't expect miracles.
"Players don't win anything when they are not ready to play or they have more risk for other injuries.
"I've seen a player who loves to play football and with really good technical skills to make him a really strong athlete.
"Pelle (Mattsson) trained all week, so he will be in the selection again.
"Papa (Amadou Diallo) trained but it's too early for him this week; he's been working really hard like all the others.
"Jovon (Makama) has also been on the pitch individually, so that's going the right way."
The Canaries welcomed Cameroon international Darlin Yongwa to the squad earlier in the week.
"He's 25 now, he's experienced with three years in Ligue 1, so it's someone with experience but not in the autumn of his career.
"I hear reactions out of France that a lot of people are surprised that he came here.
"I had a chat with him a while ago and we convinced him because of the project, because of the way of working the club and the ambitions and that he can fit in here will.
"He could have stayed in Lorient, they offered him another contract, but he wanted to leave to go to a club with more ambitions.
"He's a really ambitious person who wants to challenge himself in a new league.
"He was always attracted to football in the UK, so all those reasons helped him make the choice to come here and a really good sign that the club is on the right track.
"We want to see also with Lucien (Mahovo) and Ben (Chrisene) that they remain an important project, because I believe in them but I see also options for them in moments to play in other positions.
"It's too soon for Yongwa to be involved tomorrow.
"He did an individual pre-season and it's clear that he worked hard individually but we cannot replace a pre-season with a team and playing games.
"Now we will build him to be ready to get playing with the squad."
Clement closed the press conference with a reflection on MK Dons and what it means to be back playing competitive football again.
"This job is about winning and losing, which is why I love it.
"If it's only friendly games and making players better, you don't get the full satisfaction.
"I'm looking forward to the season, to see the fans back and get the buzz back at Carrow Road.
"I know the manager (Paul Warne) is a real Norwich fan, so for him it's the game of the year.
"They will come with a lot of confidence and we will play our game with respect for them.
"We know it's not going to be a linear trajectory this season, that's part of the story.
"The minimum we can give the fans is that they see this team is fighting until the last second and gives everything they can for the colours of this club.
"This is still a young squad, so we're going to need the fans, not only in the good moments but in the difficult moments."