Sherwood salutes spirited Tottenham

Tim Sherwood believes his Tottenham side are heading in the right direction and has refused to rule out a top-four finish.

The London club secured an unlikely victory on Sunday, coming from 2-0 down to beat Southampton 3-2 at White Hart Lane courtesy of a late Gylfi Sigurdsson strike which allayed the pressure on their head coach.

The win eased the pain of a costly period in which Tottenham lost to Chelsea and north-London rivals Arsenal before being dumped out of the UEFA Europa League by Benfica.

“The boys are really grouping together,” said Sherwood.

“We are going in the right direction. I know that because we have had a hiccup and come back.”

Sherwood believes overcoming the loss of Gareth Bale, who moved to Real Madrid for a world-record transfer fee in the close season, has taken time to overcome.

“You have to find a way to win,” he added.

“We found enough last year but we had Gareth Bale, who is a world-class footballer.

“We haven’t got him anymore and we have to find ways to win.”

They did just that against Southampton and are now six points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal having played an extra game.

Their chances of securing a UEFA Champions League spot remain slim, yet Sherwood has not given up hope.

“We are trying to do as well as we can and we know it’s going to be really difficult,” he admitted.

“We will try and accumulate as many points as we can.

“It’s squeaky-bum time and it’s time for the men to stand up.”