FA Cup rout highlights team mentality

Tottenham Hotspur’s Dele Alli believes their hunger for goals will be key as they continue to chase glory in the Premier League and FA Cup.

Alli was among the scorers as Mauricio Pochettino’s men ruthlessly disposed of League One side Millwall with a 6-0 win in their FA Cup quarter-final tie at White Hart Lane.

Heung-Min Son helped himself to a hat-trick, with Christian Eriksen and Vincent Janssen also on target in the rout, and Alli told BBC Sport: “We fancied ourselves today. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy for us, but we knew if we stuck to the game plan the chances would come and it would just be about putting them away.

“It was an important win for us, not just for the cup but for the league as well, it was important that we kept the form and keep getting the goals.

“We’re hungry for goals. We knew it was going to be a difficult game and we didn’t want to give them a chance to get back into it, because they have got a threat. When it was 2-0, it’s a horrible result to be at, in case they do score and it gets a bit nervy.

“Everyone wants to get goals and I think that’s a good thing for this team.”

Tottenham’s success came despite the early loss of leading scorer Harry Kane, who limped off in the opening minutes after suffering an ankle injury.

The England striker has 19 goals to his name so far this season, despite missing several weeks of action back in October with a similar problem.

But Alli was delighted to see the rest of the team make up for his absence, adding: “It’s always horrible to lose a player like ‘H’ as he’s been in top form, but it just shows the depth and quality we’ve got in the squad.

“When he went off everyone stepped up and rose up again. We knew we had to step it up a gear and we wish him a speedy recovery. We’ll have to see what’s happened to him.”