Thursday 15 January 2015 11:44, UK
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino praised his side’s character as they came back from two goals down to beat Burnley 4-2 and book their place in round four of the FA Cup.
Spurs were staring down the barrel of an embarrassing defeat after the visitors raced into a two-goal lead but responded with goals from Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Vlad Chiriches and Danny Rose to complete a brilliant turnaround.
And Pochettino was delighted with the resolve his team showed at White Hart Lane.
“The team has shown character and faith. It's important to grow in the group. I am happy they showed character because that is important,” he said.
"To score so quickly after 2-0 was important for our belief. I think we were the better team overall and deserved to go through."
Pochettino, whose side now face a home tie against Leicester in the next round, admitted to changing his tactics at half-time and the move worked instantly as Spurs scored two goals in two minutes to put the third-round replay beyond doubt.
However, the 42-year-old believes going in to the break level at 2-2 was vital to his side’s chances after their disastrous opening.
"It was a very interesting game. It was a strange game,” the Argentine boss added.
“It was key to go in at half-time at 2-2. We fixed something from the tactical situation and scored two goals quickly to decide the game.
"We deserved to go through to the next round.”
Pochettino also praised the performance of Roberto Soldado, despite the striker missing an open goal from six yards just before half-time.
The former Valencia forward, who laid on two assists against Burnley, has now gone five games without a goal but the Spurs boss belives goals are around the corner for the 29-year-old.
Pochettino said: "Always it's a tough period for a striker when he doesn't score, but I am very happy with his performance, and he knows that we support him. We can talk about different things but for me the most important thing is that he always fights and tries to do his best.
"His attitude was perfect; he was only missing a goal. But in football when you work hard, when you try every day and try to give your best, rewards always arrive."
