Pochettino proud of 10-man Tottenham's fighting spirit

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Tottenham lost more ground on the top four in a difficult draw at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino praised his side's "unbelievable character" in overcoming Davinson Sanchez's sending off to earn a 1-1 draw at Watford.

Sanchez was shown a straight red for elbowing Richarlison in the 52nd minute and that hampered Spurs' chances of claiming a first win in four Premier League matches.

While the draw was enough to climb above Burnley and into sixth, last season's runners-up are now four points adrift of the Champions League places.

Pochettino, who refused to be drawn on whether he felt Sanchez's dismissal was justified, applauded his players' effort.

"I am so pleased. I am very frustrated with the results recently but I have nothing [negative] to say about the performance," the Argentine said at his post-match press conference.

"[The players] were always thinking of going forward and scoring to win the game. We did not concede one chance in the second half with 10 men and I think we were close to scoring.

"I am so proud of their character."

 

Pochettino also downplayed Dele Alli's apparent unhappiness over being substituted in the 86th minute.

The midfielder was seen shaking his head as he followed Christian Eriksen and goal-scorer Son Heung-min to the bench.

"Like Christian or Sonny, the players who have character always show their frustration," he said.

"Today was a game we wanted to win. Because [Alli] had to play deeper with Mousa Dembele, the effort was amazing from him and the whole team."