House training my 6 old puppies?

I just got two puppies, I don't have a good room to put them in for potty training. Is it wrong to put puppy pads in a crate? I don't want to teach them that its ok to go in crate. If I put pads in crate how hard would it be to teach them not to go in there when they are able to hold it longer, if I downsize crate to prevent accidents.