Tottenham want to prove Jose Mourinho naysayers wrong says Eric Dier after trademark win over Man City

Eric Dier says Tottenham's players are determined to silence critics of their manager's style, after a classic Jose Mourinho performance in Saturday's 2-0 win over Manchester City.

Mourinho marked one-year at Spurs with a landmark victory over his nemesis Pep Guardiola which bore all the hallmarks of the Portuguese's great sides and took them top of the table.

Spurs had a little over 30 per cent possession and two shots to Man City's 11, but clinical finishes from Heung-min Son and substitute Giovani Lo Celso earned the hosts a deserved win.

Mourinho has faced accusations that his contain-and-counter brand of football –best epitomised by Inter Milan's Champions League win over Guardiola's Barcelona in 2010 – is no longer effective at the highest level, but Dier told Standard Sport: "I think we were pretty effective on Saturday!

"That [performance] says everything really. As players, we want to perform for him. He's created a fantastic atmosphere, a fantastic camaraderie in the dressing room. We all want to perform for him.

"And to anyone saying those kind of things, as players we want to prove them wrong for him. And I think we did that.

"I don’t think teams enjoy playing us," Dier added. "I think we’re physical, I think we’re aggressive, I think we’re determined, we’ve got a good attitude and the manager has definitely brought an extra edge to that.

"He’s more demanding in certain areas and ruthless with you individually and as a team, so he’s definitely increased [our toughness] a bit as well."

The only negative for Spurs was an adductor injury to Toby Alderweireld, described by Mourinho as a "bad" one.

Alderweireld is set for a scan on Monday but is a major doubt for a crucial run of League games against Chelsea, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Leicester.

Dier and Alderweireld's partnership has been the basis of Spurs' run of four straight victories since the 3-3 draw with West Ham, and the England international said: "It would be a huge blow for us [if Alderweireld’s injury is serious].

"We've been defending really well. Three clean sheets in our last four and Toby's been a big part of that. I thought on Saturday again he made some fantastic interceptions, tackles, blocks when he needed to. So obviously any player in this squad getting injured is a big loss for us and Toby's no different."

Joe Rodon replaced Alderweireld for the final ten minutes against City but is ineligible for Thursday's Europa League visit of Bulgarian side Ludogorets.

The 23-year-old Wales international, a summer signing from Swansea, could make his full debut at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and Dier has backed him to fill Alderweireld's boots if necessary.

"Of course he is ready to fill in," said Dier. "Everyone in the team is ready to step in if called up. There's a fantastic feeling within the squad. Everyone has put their individuality aside and is in this for something bigger than that, which is the collective of the team and the team winning games.

"There's been a big shift in that sense in this squad. Whoever has to step in at any time... you saw that on Saturday when Tanguy [Ndombele] goes off, Gio [Lo Celso] comes on and he makes an impact and scores the goal.

"We haven't really spent a lot of time together since he arrived," Dier added of Rodon. "From what I can see, he's very humble, very hard-working. From what I can see he has a fantastic mentality to want to work, to improve.

"From what I've seen [of him] around the training ground, all of those things have been fantastic. And I know the Welsh boys Ben [Davies] and Gareth [Bale] speak very highly of him. We're excited for him to be able to help the team."

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