Saturday 17 January 2015 21:37, UK
Mauricio Pochettino praised the character of his Tottenham players after they scored late on to beat Sunderland 2-1 at White Hart Lane.
Christian Eriksen scored two minutes from time to give the hosts all three points, as they climbed above Arsenal into fifth place in the Premier League table.
And while he refused to discuss their Champions League prospects, Pochettino insisted his team deserved to snatch the win.
I think we played much better than Sunderland during the game and in the second half I think we were the better team.
Pochettino said: “Yes, I think we played much better than Sunderland during the game and in the second half I think we were the better team.
“I don’t want to talk about top four; I want to talk about the next game. I think we need to keep working and our mentality is right. And we showed a good character today and we need to keep going.”
Pochettino also argued that Jan Vertonghen should have been awarded a second goal alongside the opener he scored in the second minute.
Tottenham broke in the third minute of injury-time and the defender put the ball in the back of the net but it was disallowed for offside, even though the player received the ball inside his own half.
"The ref and the linesman are a little bit confused with the rule because I thought it was a goal as well. Unlucky for Jan Vertonghen because he scored a great goal but at the end the score was 2-1 and three points are important now," he added.
"I saw that Jan was in his own half when the pass was made. I was in a fantastic position to see the action. But it was unlucky for him and the team because 3-1 is better than 2-1."
The Argentine also said he does not expect to add any players to his squad in the January transfer window.
He said: "We have a strong squad and I am happy with the squad. And we have young talent in the academy if we need them, like we did in the Europa League."
