Jose Mourinho has admitted that he was happy with Dele Alli's contribution after Tottenham's win against Marine.
The 24-year-old made his 12th appearance of the season for Spurs as he was handed a start against the eighth tier minnows in the FA Cup third round tie.
And he impressed his manager with a fine performance as Spurs won 5-0 in Crosby to seal their place in the fourth round draw tonight.
Alli did not get on the scoresheet, with Carlos Vinicius scoring a hat-trick for Tottenham and Lucas Moura and Alfie Devine also on target, but Mourinho has said that he was pleased with the England midfielder.
"I like very much. I think him and Gedson [Fernandes] they were two players who were responsible from minute 10 until minute 75," he said, speaking after the game.
"They were the ones that created. They were the ones with mobility, they were the ones that started that dynamic that created problems for them and goals for us.
"So I'm really happy. Of course he was a little bit cautious, like all of the creative players, they were a little bit afraid of the pitch, of some emotional tackle.
"But very happy, very professional attitude and a good performance."
And it was his attitude that BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Ian Wright had said before the game that Alli needed to have right in the game against Marine, with the midfielder trying to force his way into Mourinho's thinking in the Premier League.
Speaking to the BBC, Wright said: "What I’ll say about Dele is that I managed him at MK Dons, an U23 game, and they knew a lot about him.
"He was just turning 17 and they were kicking him all over the place, but his attitude was right. Knowing him, he knows he’s got something to prove and whether it’s Mourinho or whatever, he’s ready to play.”
His thoughts were echoed by Shearer, who said Alli had to do his talking on the pitch.
“When we spoke about attitude earlier, he’s got to show the right attitude," Shearer said prior to the game.
"He can’t afford to give his manager any more excuses not to like him. It’s clear that he doesn’t like him, he doesn’t play him enough, he’ll have a decision to make, but he’s got to go out and perform.”
Alli will hope that following Mourinho's comments after the game, he may now find himself more involved in the league, having only played four times in the top flight so far this season.
