Antonio Conte believes Tottenham "needed this type of performance" as they won for the first time in three matches by thumping Crystal Palace 4-0.
Spurs headed into Wednesday's match on the back of a 2-2 draw with Brentford and a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa, with questions over Conte's future surfacing after he seemed to publicly question the direction of the club.
But a Harry Kane double and goals from Matt Doherty and Son Heung-min gave Spurs an emphatic victory at Selhurst Park, putting them within two points of the Premier League's top four.
Conte was relieved after the match to end their winless run and pick up three valuable points, telling reporters: "There are moments when you need this type of performance.
"It was important. Three points, [we] don't concede a goal. It wasn't easy. To play against Crystal Palace away is not easy. They beat us last season 3-0 [at Selhurst Park]. [It is] a really difficult pitch to play.
"I have many things to be happy about, especially for the young players. We are facing a difficult situation with injured players, especially. To see that you can count on them makes me happy. Also it's important because we can create competition."
Kane's brace moved him to 264 goals for Spurs, within two of tying Jimmy Greaves as the club's all-time record goalscorer.
Conte pointed out the striker's leadership as one of his best attributes, saying: "We are talking about a really world-class striker and he's going to beat that record with the goals.
"For us he's an important point of reference. Especially in the moments you know Harry is there ready to fight and solve the situation with goals and assists.
"We have to continue in this way and face every situation, negative and positive, with great character.
"I hope that soon we can have the whole squad available and that will be very important to face Arsenal and Manchester City with all our players and then we can see our true level."
Bryan Gil impressed against Palace in what was just his third Premier League appearance this season, having come under fire for a below-par display against Villa.
Conte has high hopes for the 21-year-old, stating: "It was important. We are talking about a player born to play football. He understands football so quickly, he's so clever.
"This league is so difficult. Quality, you have to be fast and have endurance. He has that and also you have to be strong physically. Gil since last season has improved on that aspect."
You can tell everybody we have won the FA Cup – Man City players meet Elton John
Manchester City were greeted by singer Elton John as they touched down at Manchester Airport on their return from winning the FA Cup at Wembley.
The club posted videos of the squad posing for pictures with the 76-year-old on the tarmac as they disembarked from their plane late on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola said in advance of the final, which City won 2-1 against Manchester United to secure the second leg of a possible treble, that he had attended John’s concert in the city last week as he sought to take his mind off a defining period in the club’s history.
The club’s Twitter feed headed one of the videos “you can tell everybody we have won the FA Cup”, a reference to a line from the 1971 hit Your Song.
City were victorious at Wembley thanks to a goal in either half from Ilkay Gundogan – his first the fastest in FA Cup final history – as they added the trophy to the Premier League title they won in May.
They face Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday seeking to become only the second English club after Manchester United to have won all three major trophies in a single season.
Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs – Scotland’s five European qualifiers
Saturday’s Scottish Cup final ironed out the European qualifiers and plans for next season.
Celtic’s win over Inverness denied Caley Thistle a place in Europe and ensured Hibernian qualified through their fifth-placed finish in the cinch Premiership.
The result guaranteed group-stage football for Aberdeen and also gave Hearts a later start.
Here the PA new agency looks at Scotland’s five European qualifiers.
CelticEntry: Champions League group stage
Draw date: August 31
First game: September 19-20
Possible opponents: Celtic will be in pot four, meaning they cannot draw Newcastle for example. Although the seeds have not been finalised, a worst-case draw could see the Hoops facing Manchester City, Real Madrid and Milan. A kinder draw could see them come up against Benfica, RB Leipzig and Red Star Belgrade.
Prospects: Celtic will need to finish in the top three of their group to extend their European run beyond Christmas. A top-two finish would see them enter the Champions League knockout stages while third secures entry to the Europa League.
RangersEntry: Champions League third-qualifying round
Draw date: July 24
First game: August 8-9
Possible first opponents: Michael Beale’s side have four possible opponents in the non-champions path, including Sturm Graz and Serbians TSC Backa Topola. Other potential opponents could be Servette, Panathinaikos or Belgian or Ukrainian sides.
Prospects: Rangers will be looking to make the Champions League group stages again and will need to win two ties to do so. Defeat at either stage would see them drop into the Europa League. They are guaranteed group-stage football whatever happens with two qualifying defeats sending them into the Europa Conference League.
AberdeenEntry: Europa League play-offs
Draw date: August 7
First game: August 24
Possible first opponents: There are a host of variables before the Dons enter the fray but Swiss side Lugano will definitely be among their six possible opponents, while Slavia Prague and Olympiacos might also be on the list.
Prospects: The Dons will reach the Europa League group stage if they win their play-off and drop into the Conference groups if not.
HeartsEntry: Europa Conference League third-qualifying round
Draw date: July 24
First game: August 10
Prospects: Hearts will need to win two ties to secure a second consecutive season in the Conference League group stages.
Possible first opponents: Hearts will be unseeded and earlier rounds will determine the list of seeds but AZ Alkmaar, Dinamo Kyiv, Partizan Belgrade and Rapid Vienna will be among them.
HibernianEntry: Europa Conference League second-qualifying round
Draw date: June 20-21
First game: July 27
Prospects: Hibs need to win three ties to make the group stages.
Possible first opponents: Hibs will be seeded and a list of 45 unseeded clubs will be split into groups nearer the draw date. UEFA normally uses a regional basis when formulating the groups so potential opponents could be Swedish sides Hammarby or Kalmar plus, depending on earlier results, Crusaders or Connah’s Quay.
Inverness’ Scottish Cup final performance can boost confidence – Roddy MacGregor
Roddy MacGregor believes Inverness’ performance in the 3-1 Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic can boost their promotion confidence for next season.
The Championship side had beaten cinch Premiership outfits Livingston and Kilmarnock on their way to Saturday’s Hampden Park showpiece but had finished sixth in the league.
Celtic proved too tough an opponent as goals from attackers Kyogo Furuhashi, substitute Liel Abada and Jota completed the domestic treble with Caley Thistle replacement Dan MacKay’s header a consolation.
However, MacGregor – a late second-half substitute for Scott Allardice – insists positives can be taken from the performance going into next season.
The 21-year-old midfielder said: “We went toe-to-toe with the best team in the country at the moment and in previous rounds we had beaten Premiership teams.
“It just shows that when we are on our game we can give any team a game and that definitely gives us confidence going into next season.
“We were disappointed obviously, it is never nice to lose in such a big game. It is not a nice feeling.
“Up against a team like Celtic it is always going to be tricky but I think we did reasonably well and limited their chances.
“We genuinely thought we could win the game and that’s the sign of a good dressing room and we are looking to go again next season and hopefully we have a fully-fit squad.”
MacKay, on loan from Hibernian, was pleased that Inverness proved the doom-mongers wrong with their spirited performance.
The 22-year-old winger said: “The boys can be proud of themselves. We put up a really good battle.
“Everyone doubted us and said it would be six or seven nil but we proved them wrong and showed that a Championship team that was midtable was more than a match at times for Celtic but they were clinical at the end of the day.
“If you get a goal you never know what can happen in these games. Pressure happens and chances come and go in games.
“We took our chance but unfortunately we never got another chance and Celtic were clinical.
“But we need to be proud, it was an achievement getting there.”
Asked about his future with Hibs, he said: “I don’t know yet. I wait to see what happens.”
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