Jose Mourinho said he needs to find out what is in Christian Eriksen's "mind or heart" after omitting him from his first Tottenham starting line-up.
Mourinho, appointed as Spurs boss on Wednesday after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked, takes charge of his first game in the lunch-time kick-off at London rivals West Ham.
Denmark international Eriksen, out of contract next year, was expected to leave Spurs during the summer and has started only eight games this season.
"The match today is very important, but our future is also very important and I need to understand really what is in Christian's mind or heart," Mourinho told BT Sport.
"We have to make the right decision for the club. But on top of that I believe that Lucas (Moura) and Sonny (Son Heung-min) and Harry Kane – they are players with a good understanding.
"We're going to try and find, in the little time we've had to work, some positions and some dynamic where they can hurt the opposition and let's see if we can do it.
"I like the ideas, but I like to work the ideas and this today is more about ideas than to work them, so let's see if we can find happiness."