Harry Winks has revealed Spurs players also had a row after their last defeat against Sheffield United.
Tottenham's 1-0 win over Everton last night was overshadowed by a confrontation between captain Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min at half-time.
Jose Mourinho claimed the bust-up was “beautiful” and claimed he did not want his “nice boys” to win the Fair Play Cup this season.
“My winning teams have big fights,” said the double Champions League winner.
Mourinho had asked for a reaction after last week's tepid defeat at Bramall Lane – and Winks said the players had already shown their mean streak.
“I wouldn't say we're too nice, no,” he said.
“We've been on the receiving end of each other's critiques before after some defeats or games when we haven't been right.
"We've told each other.
"After the game against Sheffield, it wasn't a pretty game, it wasn't a good game to be involved in and we had some words to say to each other.
"The most important thing we can do is show it on the pitch.
"We can say stuff in the changing rooms and in team meetings but we have to show it on the pitch and I think today was a step in the right direction.”
The win lifted Tottenham into eighth place before facing Bournemouth on Thursday and then the North London derby on Sunday.
And stats show Mourinho, who recorded his 200th Premier League win, has picked up more points than Chelsea or Arsenal since taking over in November.
“I think we have got a strong mentality,” Winks added. "Especially when the manager's come in, we've got some positive performances and results.
"Our problem has really been consistency and that's something we have to work on going forward.
"If we want to challenge for the Premier League or be around the top four, it's important we have consistency.
"That's really been our problem this season.”
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