Relieved Sherwood praises Tottenham spirit

Sherwood’s side headed into the game on the back of a chastening four-game period, in which they were eliminated from the UEFA Europa League and saw their top-four hopes hit by defeats to Chelsea and north-London rivals Arsenal.

That costly period led to further questions being asked of the future of the Tottenham manager, who looked under greater pressure when errors from Kyle Naughton led to goals for Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana.

But Christian Eriksen struck either side of half-time before Gylfi Sigurdsson’s stunning half-volley at the death sealed the points.

“You cannot deny (the character),” Sherwood said. “We have taken a couple of knocks and come back. I didn’t doubt them today.

“We had to dig deep and try to find a way to win the game and I’m so proud of the lads that we managed to achieve that.”

The manager reserved particular praise for his goalscorers, adding: “Christian possesses real quality. He gets himself in positions to score. He doesn’t just take part in games; he affects them.

“Gylfi gave us a spark and deserved his goal. It doesn’t just happen, he’s out there finishing every day. That’s why he scores goals.”