Villas-Boas praises Tottenham patience

Spurs celebrated qualification for
the Europa League knockout stages
as group winners with a 2-0 win at
Tromso
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas
praised his side's patience in their 2-0
Europa League win over Tromso on
Thursday.
Spurs, already guaranteed their progress
to the next round of the competition as
Group K winners thanks to Anzhi
Makhachkala's 1-1 draw with Sheriff
Tiraspol, took all three points through an
Adnan Causevic own goal and Mousa
Dembele's strike.
It had looked as though the Norwegian
side would hold out to frustrate Villas-
Boas's men with some stubborn
defending but the Portuguese was happy
with the visitors' determination and
persistence.
"We played very well and it was
important that we won in a comfortable
way with a result that would put us
through [in first place] and we did exactly
that," he told the press. "We showed
patience and finally managed to get in
behind them."
The north Londoners went into game
following back-to-back Premier League
defeats, the last of which was a 6-0
hammering at Manchester City, and Villas-
Boas was delighted to return to winning
ways ahead of Manchester United's visit
to White Hart Lane on Sunday.
"We played well down the flanks, moved
the ball well in midfield and created lots
of good situations," he continued.
"I'm happy for the team and happy we
bounced back in preparation for the
match against United.
"It was important for us to get back to
winning ways. We said that before the
game when we were in London. We knew
about the conditions, the snow and the
artificial pitch and the players did well to
get the result."