Tottenham Veteran: Players are Behind AVB

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Brad Friedel has said players are fully backing manager Andre Villas-Boas and wants him to come good.

The 36-year-old manager came under fire after a humiliating 6-0 defeat against Manchester City. The loss appalled the Spurs' faithful and especially the north London club's management, with the Mirror suggesting the former Chelsea boss would be shown the exit door unless results improve in a month.

However, the victory away in Norway against Tromso in the Europa League fixture coupled with a captivating 2-2 draw against Premier League champions Manchester United managed to quell these rumours.

"There has never been disunity in the squad. The squad is together and the whole team and all the players back the manager. He's a very good manager," Friedel told Sky Sports.

Spurs are ninth in the league table with 21 points from 13 games, trailing fourth-placed Liverpool by three points despite spending over £100m during the summer. The American stopper revealed the players were upset after their drubbing 6-0 defeat against the Citizens.

"Yes, everyone was upset after the 6-0 loss, we were upset at losing out on the three points and embarrassed at the score line, but we stuck together. Our performances against Tromso and Man United showed what team spirit we do have," Spurs stopper said.

"Criticism after a 6-0 loss is going to come. As players, all we can do is get on the training pitch the next time and work hard. We had a very professional performance in Tromso in difficult circumstances with the plastic pitch and freezing cold weather."

Meanwhile, Friedel is delighted with the way AVB's side have bounced back from their result against City as Spurs avoided defeat against Tromso and David Moyes' side.

"I thought we came through that and the team spirit lifted very nicely. Then against Manchester United we were excellent. We were on the front foot and were the better of the two teams with the better chances," he added.

"We showed a really good reaction. I don't think you'd expect a good reaction from supporters and the press after a 6-0. You just have to avoid watching television or reading the papers and just get on with the job. We're now looking forward to Wednesday night's game at Fulham."