Tottenham victory fully deserved – Pochettino

Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino insisted his side fully deserved their 1-0 victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Spurs did not have a shot on target until the final 15 minutes and a well-worked winner from Ryan Mason – who injured his knee in the process – did not arrive until the 82nd minute.

But Pochettino saw enough from Spurs’ performance to claim they were worthy winners and he is confident their displays will improve after securing a first Premier League win of 2015-16.

“The first half was 50/50 – an open game, but we dominated the second half,” said the former Southampton boss.

“We are very pleased for our first victory. Our tempo was very good, we played a high tempo from the beginning.

“It was a hard game for us, an open game, but I think we dominated it and we deserved to win the match.

“It is another clean sheet, the first victory of the league after five games and now we can move on. This will help us with our confidence for the next games.

“The goal showed how we try to play and what our philosophy is, it was fantastic but unlucky for Mason because he got a big knock on his knee.

“We will assess him on Monday, we hope it is not anything permanent.”

Pochettino also stressed he still had confidence in striker Harry Kane, despite the striker failing to convert two second-half chances on Sunday as his goalless start to the league season continued.

He said of the England man: “I am very happy with him, he gave his best for the team, his effort was great and you know he only needs time to score again – I am sure he will arrive at that moment. 

“Yes [he can still have another great season]. Remember he didn’t start to score until maybe two months into last season. Last year he scored an own goal here – so this was better!

“He is very confident and very happy after the game in the changing room. He puts the result and the collective situation first before individual problems or targets and this is why we are very pleased with the player.”

Tottenham are back in action on Thursday when they face Qarabag at White Hart Lane in the UEFA Europa League.