Lewis Holtby: Tottenham squad all united behind Andre Villas-Boas

Lewis Holtby has insisted that the whole of the Tottenham squad are united behind Andre Villas-Boas following Wednesday’s win at Fulham.

Holtby scored a late winner for Spurs as they came from behind to seal a 2-1 victory which hoisted them up into sixth place in the Premier League.

Villas-Boas had come in for criticism following Spurs’ 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City last month.

This is a new team, we have bought a lot of players and you need to give them time

Lewis Holtby

And despite the north Londoners trailing league leaders Arsenal by 10 points, Holtby insists that the Portuguese coach is helping to keep the squad focused.

“I don’t really read newspapers, I can just say how the team is and, if you go to the training ground every day, the team spirit is very high,” Holtby said. “There is a lot of friendship between a lot of the players.

“We all stick behind the gaffer, we give our best. Of course we had a tough time in November but [on Wednesday] we got a good result at a difficult place. Now we need another three points from the Sunderland game.

“[Villas-Boas] bonds us together and is very close to the team. Everyone accepts him and his way of playing football.

“There is a lot of negativity coming from outside but we are all sticking together. Bringing this bad mood into the team won’t help. We’re positive and we know that the season is long.”

Holtby continued: “We have to do our talking on the pitch. We were responsible for that disaster at Manchester City but the way we responded after that has been good. We have to carry on doing that.

“This is a new team, we have bought a lot of players and you need to give them time – people like [Erik] Lamela, who don’t speak the English language.

“Every game it is coming, we will get to know each other better and better. We are doing an OK job but we are getting there. I hope we can get a winning streak now.”