Tottenham vs Manchester United: Jan Vertonghen says idea that Spurs need to regroup is ‘stupidest thing to think’

The Belgian says there is no reason for Spurs to embark on any drastic reflection because ‘they were the better team’

A weary Jan Vertonghen dismissed the idea that Tottenham needed to regroup after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United as the “stupidest thing to think”.

The Belgian centre-back, who returned to the Spurs starting eleven at Wembley after missing the last five games with a hamstring injury, remained adamant that Tottenham had been the better side throughout the match and so there was no need for any drastic reflection.

“I think today we showed our quality against theirs, and I think we’re still up there,” Vertonghen said after the match. ”Obviously they won and we have to show respect to them but I still think we’re one of the strongest teams in the league.

“Everyone saw how good we were, it wasn’t a game where we couldn’t do the things we wanted to do, the only thing we couldn’t do was score.

“I think other games that we lost we were not good enough, but today the quality and aggressiveness was there, it was just a case of not getting the goals.”

After falling behind to a sharp first-half counter-attack, which was cutely finished by Marcus Rashford, Spurs’ overwhelming second-half onslaught proved fruitless thanks to a series of remarkable saves from United keeper David De Gea.

“I thought we were the better team. I think everyone saw that and we were a bit unlucky today,” Vertonghen continued.

“Obviously he’s a great goalkeeper but we’ve got the strikers, I think we were just a bit unlucky today because in other games we score like four or five, and today we didn’t. “

Tottenham’s injury crisis worsened during the game with Moussa Sissoko withdrawn just before half-time after suffering a groin strain, while the extent of the damage done to Harry Kane’s ankle remains to be seen, but it’s feared England’s captain could be kept out for a number of weeks.

Having kept apace with Manchester City and Liverpool until Christmas, Spurs are now nine points behind the league leaders and just one point ahead of fourth-placed Chelsea. But while Vertonghen admitted that the conveyor belt of injuries has been “crazy”, the 31-year-old remained resolute that Spurs are still capable of fighting on four fronts, as they prepare to face Fulham next weekend as well as the return leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

The severity of Harry Kane’s ankle injury is still yet to be known (Getty)

“Especially at the beginning of the season [the injuries were bad]. I think the last couple of weeks were okay, but you just named a couple of them [Sissoko and Kane] and we’ll need to assess how bad Harry’s injury is. It’s one of those things and that’s why we have the other guys and they need to stand up now.

“You’ve always got to think with the players you’ve got. Every time someone’s got injured there has been people there to perform and I hope we will see that again this time.

“We’re still in four competitions and we’ve got the quality in every single game and every single competition and hopefully we can do something special this year.”