Conte gives pat on the back to Spurs players for showing bottle to bounce back against Leeds

Antonio Conte praised his players for passing the first big test of character he wanted to see - facing up to adversity and a restless home crowd.

Spurs were not at the races during an abject first half against Leeds United on Sunday and could have no complaints about trailing 1-0. Home fans were so frustrated, many vented their dissatisfaction with boos as the players trooped off.

But rather than shrink, the players stood tall with a fine second-half response - turning it all around to secure a first Premier League win for the Italian as Tottenham boss.

"Mentally, I liked the answer of the players," Conte said. "Our fans weren't satisfied and in this situation a lot of times your confidence goes down. I was a player and I know this.

"The three points are very important for us. We won a difficult game. In the first half, we struggled a lot on the tactical aspects and physically, because they brought intensity to press us in every area of the pitch.

"In the second half, we changed it tactically and we brought the same intensity or even a higher intensity than Leeds and then we created many chances to score and I think we deserved to win.

"Leeds played very aggressively and won a lot of tackles and were first on the ball. In the second half, I'm pleased because I had a good answer from my players. We played good football. Attractive football. Also, the feeling of the crowd changed totally."

Conte added: "It's important for me now, since three weeks that I'm working with these players and for the international players only one week, but we already worked a lot on the physical aspect and tactically. For sure we can improve and improve a lot under many aspects.

"The importance for this squad is to try and involve more players in this moment and I'm pleased for the performances of [Japhet] Tanganga, [Davinson}Sanchez when he came in and [Harry] Winks who struggled in the first half and in the second has totally changed his performance. It means these players found confidence."