Arne Slot defended his team selection after a weakened Liverpool lineup was turfed out of the FA Cup by Plymouth Argyle. Despite a shock 1-0 defeat against the Championship’s bottom club, Slot argued that his decision to give senior players a rest would pay dividends later in the season.

Slot made 10 changes from the win against Tottenham on Thursday night, with a relatively inexperienced bench and players such as Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk left out of the squad entirely.

“Most of the things we do, we do for a reason,” Slot insisted. “We have many games to play. The ones who played today need game rhythm, for them to be ready in the upcoming months.”

Related: Stunned Liverpool sent crashing out of FA Cup in major upset at Plymouth

The defeat “hurt”, Slot admitted, but he was careful too to give appropriate praise to Plymouth. “They worked incredibly hard,” Slot said.

“There were one or two big chances, but I think if a team is working so hard and throws themselves into any ball, maybe you deserve to be a bit lucky as well. The goalkeeper made one or two good saves in the end, but we hardly created anything at all.”

Slot also revealed that Curtis Jones, named on the bench, had declared himself unfit on the morning of the game. And he also offered sympathy for Isaac Mabaya, the substitute who was himself substituted on his Liverpool debut. “I had to take him off,” Slot said. “He was already on a yellow. To be taken off after an hour is very disappointing for him, of course.”

Plymouth are still four points adrift of safety but if they show this kind of defensive resolve they still have every chance. And for Miron Muslic, the Plymouth manager, “the biggest moment in my coaching career” came with a caveat. “So far,” he said. “The biggest moment is yet to come, at the end of the season, when we stay up. This is what I feel, in my mind, in my soul.

“We wanted to represent ourselves. To be organised, to be brave, to be full of intensity, to use this huge stage as an opportunity. We had to enjoy defending. And we did. To keep them away from the goal is a huge, huge task.”

Alas, with a crucial game against Millwall on Wednesday, the celebrations will be brief. “I will go home,” Muslic said. “I will rewatch the game. I will eat some nachos and drink some Fanta. Very boring for me. But the fans should enjoy themselves!”