Published: 2 January, 2014
by DAN CARRIER

Premier League
MAN UNITED 1, SPURS 2

SPURS kicked 2014 off by taking all three points at champions Manchester United in a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

And manager Tim Sherwood praised the players who have won him 10 points out of a possible 12 since he took over from Andre Villas-Boas, just before Christmas.

The manager said the players at Old Trafford were what was left of the "bare bones" of an injury-ravaged squad and those involved had gone through the pain barrier during the holidays' hectic fixture list.

“Credit to our players, the guys you saw today are all the fit players we have and they have really dug in this festive period,” he said.

“We showed the heart of a lion out there. We really dug in when we had to, all credit to the lads for getting a result."

Spurs took the lead on 34 when Emmanuel Adebayor rose to nod home Christian Eriksen's teasing cross: the Danish playmaker put Spurs further ahead in the second half, just for United's Daniel Welbeck to peg back Spurs to 2-1 and set up a grand finale that saw Spurs hang on.

Sherwood said the manner of the victory was pleasing as Spurs defended well and attacked brightly, with youngsters Nabil Bentaleb and Harry Kane playing crucial parts in the victory.

He said: “It’s always tough coming to Old Trafford but I felt if we got our players on the ball in the right areas we’d create chances.

“We created the best chances in the first half and it’s a shame we only managed to take one, but we stuck to it and scored the second. The players showed real character and it was great to take the three points.”

And it could have been more: midway through the first half, Aaron Lennon was played in by a defence-splitting ball from forward Roberto Soldado but could only strike against United keeper David de Gea's feet. Soldado also could have made things easier in the second half when he miscued a shot from a teasing Lennon cross.

The only cloud for Sherwood was watching Adebayor be carried off on a stretcher on 70 minutes after an inspiring performance. With a visit to Arsenal in the FA Cup on Saturday, he will be hoping the Togo forward is simply suffering from fatigue.

He added: "He's got ice on every part of his body so we can't tell what's wrong with him. I'm hoping he's not too badly injured."

SPURS COMMENT by Dan Carrier

TIM Sherwood has got his players playing together, fighting together, and as this steely performance shows, able to mix the frilly stuff with the raw elements required to defend a lead away from home.

But while nothing should be taken away from the collective effort expended, it wouldn't be unfair to highlight the work of centre-back Vlad Chiriches in overturning the champions on their own grass.

He was one of the summer purchases whose work so far in the Premiership has gone under the radar: he has stepped seamlessly into the breach after Spurs lost Kaboul and Vertonghen and, instead of being gently eased into the hustle and bustle of the Premier League, he has been thorwn in to the deep end – and come up smiling.

Composed, strong on the ball, and able to read the game well, he is a cultured centre-back and provides a good foil for Dawson. Today's performance at Old Trafford was the latest in a line of solid shows – and he is rapidly stating that when Vertonghen and Kaboul do return from injury, they'll have to do very well indeed to replace the 24-year-old from Bacau, Romania.

SPURS: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Chiriches, Rose, Lennon, Capoue (Bentaleb, 64) Dembele, Eriksen, Adebayor (Chadli, 70) Soldado (Kane, 75),