Slavisa Jokanovic brushed aside reports linking Tottenham with taking teenage talent Ryan Sessegnon off his hands.
The Fulham head coach pointed to the obvious after the 1-1 draw with Leeds - that a 16-year-old in his first Championship game is far from ready for the heady heights of the Premier League.
Even so, Sessegnon belied his years after taking the left-back spot from Scott Malone and worked the Leeds wings all match.
In fact, he nearly set up Floyd Ayite for hist first goal with a deft cross met by a header that skimmed wide.
If neutral eyes were on the youngster, Jokanovic glanced daggers at his side for conceding a late equaliser with 90 seconds to go.
It was all the more gutting for Jokanovic on his 48th birthday, after he declared Fulham had played the best football despte winning the other three games.
He said: "We are disappointed - because Fulham played their best game of the season. We should have scored more, and they scored one typical Championship goal.
"One big boy wins the ball and another big boy scores with a bicycle kick. I believe we played better than what went before.
"I've been asked about our progress made many times this last week, and I believe we are going to show more ambition, energy and desire.
"Ryan's a very talented boy, but front of him there's plenty of work in front of him in the Championship with Fulham.
"He's played in one Championship game. He can be part of Tottenham or another important team in the future, but now he's with us."
