Tim Sherwood felt his Tottenham players were right behind him in their 2-2 Europa League draw with Benfica on Thursday night.
The manager questioned the character of his Spurs side after they lost 4-0 to Chelsea on March 8 which drew some negative reactions from the press.
Tottenham were dumped from the Europa League 5-3 on aggregate despite their Round of 16 second leg draw in Lisbon but Sherwood was thrilled with the response from the Spurs players who have dropped three of their past four league outings.
"People speculated, didn't they?" said Sherwood after the match in which Nacer Chadli scored a double.
"I read a lot of things saying now you need those players on your side.
"I think it's evident they're on my side and the side of the club. They fight for the cause and my little rant, if you want to call it one, has done them no harm.
"They have showed real character and real guts and they need to do that until the end of the season, because we've got some tough games ahead and I'm confident they will do that."
Fifth-placed Tottenham return to domestic action with a home fixture against eighth-placed Southampton on Sunday.
