Matt Doherty scored his first goal for Tottenham in their 4-0 victory at Elland Road on Saturday and he has explained the aftermath of it.
The wing-back scored the first goal in the game against a Leeds side who now sit 16th in the league and have won just five games this season - a result that proved to be the end for Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road.
Doherty has been in and out of form in this campaign and has battled for a spot at right wing-back with Emerson Royal under Antonio Conte.
The Irishman was given the nod against Marcelo Bielsa's now former side, and as well as his goal, the 30-year-old had 89.1% passing accuracy, made two interceptions and three clearances.
The Lilywhites went into the game on the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Burnley during the week, which came after a thrilling 3-2 victory over Man City. Conte gave a much happier post-match press conference after the win at Elland Road, which was a change to the drama after the trip to Turf Moor.
"It was a good performance for us in a very difficult stadium against a strong team that is very difficult to play against," the Italian admitted.
"Today we played a really good game, good performance, good football but what I wanted to see today was the right spirit, the right character, the right desire to fight, to win the ball, win duels against a team that in this situation are masters."
Conte's system is reliant on the two wing-backs working up and down the flanks, something Spurs have struggled to do effectively so far.
However, Doherty's goal showed exactly that with Ryan Sessegnon's cross, which he slotted into the back of the net in the tenth minute.
"For the first time I have seen my mark about this system, to create with the wing-back and the other wing back to score. This is a mark of my system, my formation," the 52-year-old explained.
"This is the first time. It means the work is starting to work."
In his post match interview with Spurs TV, the Irish international gave his verdict of his sides performance.
"We played well today," Doherty said. "I think everybody played with personality, character and confidence. We kind of blew them away.
"We were expecting a reaction from them after what happened to them during the week [losing 6-0 to Liverpool] and they're at home, early kick-off, the atmosphere.
"I think we nullified them quite well and we were ruthless today."
He then went on to praise his teammate for the assist to his goal.
"The ball was going to be right because Sess was on the end of it and he's got quality," Doherty admitted. "Once it was there I knew he was going to put it in the right spot and it was up to me to get the right connection. Fortunately this time around I did and it went in.
"It's my first goal for Tottenham, it's taken a long time, but it feels pretty good."
After the goal went into the back of the net, Doherty's Spurs teammates came to celebrate with him as he shouted and smiled in celebration for his goal.
After the game he reflected on his reaction and admitted that he hasn't quite got a signature celebration yet.
"I guess it was an accumulation of loads of different different things that kind of bring the emotion," he explained. "I still don't know how to celebrate properly. You kind of get lost, don't you?"
The defender made the move to N17 during the summer transfer window in 2020, after ten years at Wolves and he explained how Conte's system works for him.
"I guess the kind of formation that we play really suits me," the Irishman said. "That's what brought me to Tottenham in the first place.
"I was a wing-back...I used to attack and be really offensive, when I was at Wolves, that's the whole reason I'm here. Hopefully I can build on that and have this type performance week in, week out.
"We're pretty happy leaving today but we know we still have a long way to go."
Spurs do still have a long way to go in finding consistency in their performances and results and can start to show this in their next game, which is a trip to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on Tuesday.
